Preliminary work of the long-awaited Pudong Railway project has started, sources from the Shanghai Railway Administration said.

A feasibility study on the project was recently approved by the central government .

As designed, the Pudong Railway, with a length of 117 kilometers, is to run through the districts of Jinshan, Fengxian and Nanhui, to Pudong, joining Ruanxiang Station in the south and Zhangmiao Station in the north. Both are existing railway stations.

Investment in the project will be 7.6 billion yuan (US$919 million), according to the Pudong Railway Development Co Ltd, which is jointly funded by the municipality and the Ministry of Railways. The company, established in June, is responsible for the project.

Railway administration officials say the project will play a significant role in developing Pudong and the industrial development zones along the route and will enhance Shanghai as a shipping hub and economic leader at the tip of the Yangtze River Delta.

The first phase of the project, with an investment of 2 billion yuan (US$240 million),will feature 42.8 kilometers of track from Ruanxiang Station to Ping'an in the under-construction New Harbour City in Nanhui District which faces the ongoing Yangshan Port.

The first phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2005 to echo the completion of the first five berths in the deep-water port.

Thus, a comprehensive and efficient transportation network will be formed as the railway, the ports, the airport and expressways are well designed to operate together.

The yearly transport capacity of the railway is to reach 1 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit).

(China Daily November 22, 2004)