Anting West Station in Jiading district, Shanghai opens to the public on July 1. [Photo/jiading.gov.cn]

The long-awaited Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong Railway started operating on July 1, the same day that Anting West Station in Jiading district, Shanghai opened to the public.

The new railway features the world's first bridge with a span of more than 1,000 meters and serves both cars and trains. It is an important part of the "eight vertical and eight horizontal" high-speed railway network planned by the national medium and long-term railway network.

Anting West Station will become a major Shanghai access point and covers an area of nearly 2,000 square meters. The station is equipped with three ticket vending machines, and the waiting lounge has 640 seats.

Railway officials said that a maximum of 44.5 pairs of passenger trains will operate at the station every day. Passengers can find more details on the online railway ticket-booking platform 12306.

Public transport authorities said that a new shuttle bus will be launched for passengers, making it easier to get to and from Anting West Station.

Additionally, Anting town is speeding up the construction of supporting infrastructure, including four roads and three bridges to the station, and a complete metro-bus system will be set up for seamless transportation between Shanghai Metro Line 11 and bus routes to the station.