Lanzhou−Xinjiang railway 兰新铁路
A train running through the deserts ofXinjiang
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	People's Republic of China Gansu Xinjiang
Termini	Lanzhou railway station Ürümqi South railway station
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	China Railway
Operator(s)	China Railway Lanzhou Group China Railway Ürümqi Group
History
Opened	1966
Technical
Line length	1,904 km (1,183 mi)
Number of tracks	2 (Double-track railway)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Operating speed	160km/h
Route map Legend km elev Baotou–Lanzhou railway toBaotou Longhai railway toLianyungang East 0 Lanzhou Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toXuzhou East 8 Lanzhou West Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toÜrümqi 42 Hekou South Lanzhou–Qinghai railway toXining Hekou Yellow River Bridge (293m) 111 Yongdeng Wushaoling Tunnel (20,060m) 244 Gulang Gantang–Wuwei railway to Gantang 290 Wuwei South 303 Wuwei [zh] 377 Jinchang 494 Shandan 547 Zhangye 584 Linze 619 Gaotai 684 Qingshui Qingshui–Luyuan railway toJiuquan Satellite Launch Center 748 Jiuquan Jiayuguan–Ceke railway to Ceke link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toLanzhou West 770 Jiayuguan [zh] Jiayuguan–Jingtieshan Railway to Jingtieshan link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toÜrümqi 803 Yumen Yumen South railway [zh] to Yumen South link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toLanzhou West 902 Yumen link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toÜrümqi 971 Liugou Dunhuang railway toDunhuang CR Lanzhou Group CR Ürümqi Group 1067 Liuyuan 1153 Hongliuhe Gansu Xinjiang 1242 Shankou link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toLanzhou West 1339 Hami link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toÜrümqi 1609 Shanshan 1749 Turpan Southern Xinjiang railway toKashgar 1802 Dabancheng link to Xuzhou–Lanzhou HSR toLanzhou West 1892 Ürümqi South Ürümqi–Dzungaria railway to Jiangjunmiao Northern Xinjiang railway toAlashankou km This diagram: view talk edit

TheLanzhou−Xinjiang railway orLanxin railway (simplified Chinese:兰新铁路;traditional Chinese:蘭新鐵路;pinyin:Lánxīn Tiělù), is the longest railway inNorthwestern China. It runs 1904 kilometres (1,183 miles) fromLanzhou,Gansu, through theHexi Corridor, toÜrümqi, inXinjiang. It was Xinjiang's only rail link with the rest of China until the opening of theLanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway in December 2014. The railway follows the path of the ancientSilk Road.

The Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway, often abbreviated as the Lanxin line, is the longest railway built by the People's Republic of China. It was built by theChina Railway Engineering Corporation. Construction of the initial stage (to Ürümqi) started in 1952, completed in 1962 and opened in 1966. The extension to the Kazakhstan border was built in the late 1980s and the linkup with theKazakhstan Railroads was achieved on September 12, 1990. After the completion of the 20 kmWushaoling Tunnel in 2006, the railway fromLanzhou toÜrümqi is all double-tracked.

The Lanxin railway's eastern terminus isLanzhou railway station. Lanzhou is a railway junction city in eastern Gansu Province, where theLanzhou–Qinghai, Baotou–Lanzhou andLonghai Railways converge. From Lanzhou, the line heads west, across theYellow River, into theHexi Corridor, where it passes through Gansu citiesWuwei,Jinchang,Zhangye,Jiuquan andJiayuguan, en route to Xinjiang. Once in Xinjiang, the railway passes throughHami,Shanshan,Turpan andDabancheng, before reaching Ürümqi in central Xinjiang.

The Lanxin railway is sometimes categorized to include theNorthern Xinjiang railway, which continues west from Ürümqi toAlashankou, on the Kazakhstan border. The distance from Alashankou to Lanzhou is 2360 km. Beyond Alashankou, the railway links up with theTurkestan–Siberia railway ofCentral Asia and eventually reachesRotterdam.

The railway's northern branch extends 477 kilometres from Ürümqi toAlataw Pass (its westernmost point), where China'sAlashankou railway station is connected to Kazakhstan'sDostyk station.

The railway also has a southern branch, which splits off the main line nearTurpan (east of Ürümqi), and runs west toKashgar at the westernmost tip of the country. It was completed in 1999.

Xinjiang coal is one of the main types of freight shipped along the railway. In 2010, the railway is expected to ship 30 million tons of it, and by 2012, the amount is anticipated to rise to 50 million tons.^[1]

A new high-speed passenger rail line from Lanzhou to Xinjiang opened in December 2014.^[2] The line is mostly parallel to the existing Lanxin railway, with the exception of also servingXining,Qinghai rather than staying entirely within Gansu province on the way to Xinjiang. The estimated cost was 143.5 billionyuan. Since the completion of this route, the older Lanxin railway is used mostly for freight.^[3]

There is alsoa planned railway connecting Golmud and Korla, to be an alternative railway corridor to Xinjiang.

• Lanxin Railway
• 
  Lanzhou Station
• 
  Jinchang Station
• 
  Jinchang Station platform
• 
  Wuwei Station
• 
  Wuwei platform
• 
  Jiayuguan Station
• 
  Liuyuan Station
• 
  Wind farm along the railway in Xinjiang
• 
  Ürümqi Station

• "Xinjiang Travel Guide".China Travel Guide. Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2007. RetrievedDecember 24, 2005.
• "The Economic Development of Xinjiang After the Founding of New China".Government White Papers. RetrievedDecember 24, 2005.
• "Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway".China Railway Engineering Corporation. Archived fromthe original on March 2, 2006. RetrievedDecember 24, 2005.

• Railway lines in China
• Rail transport in Gansu
• Rail transport in Xinjiang
• Railway lines opened in 1962

• Webarchive template wayback links
• Articles with Chinese-language sources (zh)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Chinese-language text
• Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text
• Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text