Ejin–Hami railway orEha railway (simplified Chinese:额哈铁路;traditional Chinese:額哈鐵路;pinyin:Éhā tiělù), is arailway in western China betweenEjin Banner inAlxa League of westernInner Mongolia and the city ofHami in the eastern part of theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The line runs 644 km (400 mi) through the deserts near the Mongolian border. Apart from Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, the line also crosses theSubei Mongol Autonomous County, the sliver ofGansu Province that extends to theMongolian border. Construction began on June 30, 2014 and was slated to take three years,[1] but the line opened only 17 months later on December 1, 2015.[2] The opening of this rail line shortened the distance by rail fromHohhot, Inner Mongolia's capital, to destinations in Xinjiang andKazakhstan by over 800 km.[3]
The Ejin–Hami railway is part of a rail corridor that will extend fromTianjin, on the Bohai Gulf in North China toTorugart Pass on the border withKyrgyzstan.[4] It begins in the east at theChuandituo railway station (川地托站) on theLinhe–Ceke railway and runs due west to Hami East station on theLanzhou–Xinjiang railway.[4] Stations along route include Heiyingshan, Mazongshan, Mingshui, Wutongshui, Luotuoquanzi.[4]
The line passes through desert wilderness with no water, electricity, cell phone signal or road transportation.[1] Nine grand bridges, along with 37 large bridges, 121 mid-sized bridges and 1,863 viaducts were built.[1] The line has a single-track, with the possibility of future electrification.[1] The line was reported to cost 9.87 billionyuan to build.[4]