On July 1, a Fuxing bullet train with the service number G7556 departed from Yuhang Railway Station at 7:01 am and arrived at the Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station one hour and two minutes later. It is the first-ever train service with terminals in Shanghai and Hangzhou's Yuhang district.

Although high-speed trains have been operating between Yuhang Railway Station and Shanghai ever since October 2010, passengers at Yuhang Railway Station previously had limited seat options and departure times.

This has changed significantly. For example, before July, the G7556 train service provided around 200 seats per trip for Yuhang passengers. This number has now increased to 10,000 as Yuhang is now the original terminal rather than just a stop along the journey. In addition, the new G7555 train departs from Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station at 9:05 pm and ends at Yuhang Railway Station at 10:03 pm. Before the introduction of G7555, the last train departed at around 7 pm. The new train services have made travel between Yuhang and Shanghai much more convenient.

The new train services reflect Yuhang's efforts to integrate with Shanghai, the economic center of the Yangtze River Delta region. Yuhang, where tech giant Alibaba Group is based, is one of the most prosperous districts in Zhejiang province, with its gross domestic product exceeding 280 billion yuan ($39.9 billion) in 2019. The city hopes to reap the benefits of being more closely linked with Shanghai.

A Fuxing bullet train departs from Yuhang Railway Station toward Shanghai on the morning of July 1. [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]