The country's first trans-­provincial metro line started operation Wednesday, connecting Shanghai and neighboring Jiangsu Province in East China, which will likely boost the region's economy.

Shanghai Metro Line 11 has been extended six kilometers westward from Anting Station to Jiangsu's Kunshan city with three new stations, Zhaofeng Road Station, Guangming Road Station and Huaqiao Station from east to west.

The total distance of Line 11 has now reached 72 kilometers, making it the country's longest subway line, Nanjing-based ­Xinhua Daily reported Wednesday.

It takes passengers about 70 minutes to get from Huaqiao Station to downtown Shanghai's Xujiahui Station and costs only 7 yuan ($1.15).

Extension of the subway will boost economic development in Kunshan and Suzhou in Jiangsu Province, Yu Hongsheng, an expert with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, told Xinhua Daily.

The trans-­provincial subway is a significant attempt to break the separation caused by diffe­rent administrative divisions, Sun Zhang, a professor with the Institute of Railway and Urban Mass Transit at Shanghai's Tongji University, told the newspaper.

Thanks to the subway, living in Kunshan and working in Shanghai is now possible, which could boost regional economy development greatly, said Sun.

This was echoed by residents commuting between Kunshan and Shanghai.

"It's very convenient now. Before ... I had to first take the subway to Anting Station [in Shanghai], and then take other vehicles to Huaqiao in Kunshan," a retired worker surnamed Chen who lives in Kunshan told the Xinhua Daily.

But Sun also noted that trans-­provincial subway is not suitable for all areas and certain conditions must be met. "There must be a metropolis like Shanghai, which is 'surrounded' by other cities. Besides, the neighboring cities must be big enough to be developed into satellite cities in the future."