Objective The Jiaxing–Fengnan City Railway is an east-west backbone line of Jiaxing city railway network, passing through Jiaxing city main urban area, with dense buildings along the corridor and many control points. The alignment method has a significant impact on national spatial planning and surrounding land development quality, thus requiring in-depth study.

Method Considering the engineering stratigraphical characteristics of Jiaxing urban section, alignment principles for city railways in urban sections, and the main controlling factors for surrounding area, a systematic comparative study between the short-tunnel and full-tunnel schemes is conducted from multiple dimensions, including construction conditions, urban environment, integrated land development along the route, and network transfers.

Result & Conclusion  Although the full-tunnel alignment scheme involves higher capital investment, it maximizes the degree of meeting national spatial planning requirements, lowering interference with ground traffic, effectively controlling impact of train operation noise on surrounding environment, and provide more reliable protection for important cultural heritage sites such as Quemuqiao Relics.