The word jiaotong (交通) means “communications”. The university was controlled by the state telegraph and communications agency during its early period. Today, the university does not translate “jiao tong” in its English name, as it is a comprehensive university that provides instruction and research in many fields, including those unrelated to communications (wikipedia).
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), as one of the higher education institutions which enjoy a long history and a world-renowned reputation in China, is a key university directly under the administration of the Ministry of Education (MOE) of the People’s Republic of China and co-constructed by MOE and Shanghai Municipal Government. Through 119 years’ unremitting efforts, SJTU has become a comprehensive, research-oriented, and internationalized top university in China (http://en.sjtu.edu.cn/about-sjtu/overview).