The "14th Five-Year Plan for Comprehensive Transportation Development of Shanghai" was recently released. At a Shanghai municipal government press conference held on the 8th, reporters learned that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai will accelerate the layout of trunk railway corridors, achieving 60-minute access from Shanghai's central city to neighboring cities and 120-minute access from major hubs to key cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

Li Junhao, chief engineer of the Shanghai Municipal Transport Commission, said: "In the next five years, Shanghai will play its leading role in the Yangtze River Delta region. By jointly building an integrated comprehensive transportation system, we will further enhance the level of infrastructure connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta and strengthen support and safeguards for integrated development."

In terms of railways, Shanghai will promote the building of a "Yangtze River Delta on rails." The Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Railway was completed and opened to traffic in 2020. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai will basically complete the Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou Railway and the Shanghai-Hangzhou Passenger Dedicated Line Shanghai South Connecting Line, accelerate construction of projects such as the second phase of the Shanghai-Nantong Railway, advance construction of the riverside high-speed railway and the Shanghai-Zhapu-Hangzhou Railway, and improve connectivity between towns and key functional areas along the routes and surrounding cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

In terms of aviation and shipping, Shanghai will further explore cross-regional airport cooperation mechanisms and jointly advance port and waterway construction. On the one hand, it will consolidate and enhance Shanghai's core position as an aviation hub, support the planning and construction of the Nantong New Airport, and study the establishment of virtual terminals for Shanghai airports in Suzhou, Jiaxing and other places. On the other hand, it will promote multi-modal cooperation in shipping along the Yangtze River and coastal areas of the Yangtze River Delta, accelerate the joint building of a globally radiating shipping hub, and form a pattern of "connecting Jiangsu and Zhejiang and linking to seaports."

In terms of highways, Shanghai plans to further improve the functions of national and provincial trunk roads and promote road network integration in cross-provincial border areas. At present, seven projects to open up "dead-end roads at provincial borders" have been completed and opened to traffic. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Shanghai will complete the Jiading-Liuhe section of the G15, accelerate the reconstruction of congested sections such as the G318, and build new out-of-province sections of national highways such as the G228 and G320; it will continue to advance the construction of roads connecting provincial borders and improve the traffic capacity of the road network in areas near Shanghai.

Zhang Wei, vice mayor of Shanghai, said that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the level of transportation connectivity in the Yangtze River Delta significantly improved, and the development goal for the 14th Five-Year Plan period is for regional integrated transportation connectivity to lead the country.