Southern Xinjiang railway 南疆铁路
The Southern Xinjiang railway through theTian Shan range inHejing County
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	People's Republic of China Xinjiang
Termini	Turpan railway station Kashgar railway station
Service
Type	Heavy rail
System	China Railway
Operator(s)	China Railway Ürümqi Group
History
Opened	1984 (Turpan–Korla) 1999 (Korla–Kashgar)
Technical
Line length	1,930 km (1,200 mi)
Number of tracks	2 (Turpan–Aksu;Double-track railway) 1 (Aksu–Kashgar;Single-track railway)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge
Minimum radius	800 m (2,625 ft)
Electrification	25 kV AC, 50 Hz (Turpan–Korla)
Operating speed	160km/h
Highest elevation	2.2%
Route map Legend km elev Bold names stations currently handling passenger traffic Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway toLanzhou 143 Turpan Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway toÜrümqi South Lanzhou–Xinjiang HSR Ürümqi ↔Lanzhou West Daheyan [zh] Toudaohe line station Zhenzhuquan 212 Toksun 233 Wangbu Aiweiergou Railway [zh] to Hongling 257 Yu'ergou Yu'ergou–Yanqi branch [zh] Boxinte Tataer Xinjingzi Malan Heshuo Yu'ergou–Yanqi branch Yanqi Tashendian Golmud–Korla railway toGolmud 456 Korla [zh] Kubei Kuxi Tiemenguan Shangku line to Shangku Kuerchu Yeyungou Cadaya Yangxia Talake 790 Luntai Erbatai Yakela Yaha 883 Kuche Kuche–Ehuobulake railway [zh] to Ehuobulake Kuche West 922 Xinhe Yisikesu Teerxike Yangtakekuduke Xianshuigou 1072 Kalayuergun Paman 1126 Aksu Sanjiaodi Satema Aksu–Aral railway [zh] to Aral 1191 Jinyinchuan 1240 Kalpin Yijianfang Qiaerbage Tumxuk Railway [zh] toTumxuk 1343 Bachu Wudaoban Xigeer Bapanmo 1552 Artux Kashgar North 1588 Kashgar Kashgar–Hotan railway toHotan km This diagram: view talk edit

TheSouthern Xinjiang railway orNanjiang railway (simplified Chinese:南疆铁路;traditional Chinese:南疆鐵路;pinyin:Nánjiāng tiělù), is a railway betweenTurpan andKashgar inXinjiang,China. The railway is 1,446 km (899 mi) in length and runs along the southern slope of theTian Shan mountain range, connecting all major cities and towns of the NorthernTarim Basin, including Turpan,Hejing,Yanqi,Korla,Luntai (Bügür),Kuqa,Toksu (Xinhe),Aksu,Maralbexi (Bachu),Artux, and Kashgar.^[1][2]

The line joins theLanzhou–Xinjiang railway at Turpan (connecting toÜrümqi) and theKashgar–Hotan railway in Kashgar. It also forms the Taklimakan Desert railway loop, together with sections of theHotan–Ruoqiang railway,Kashgar–Hotan railway, andGolmud–Korla railway.^[3]

The Southern Xinjiang railway was built from east to west. The Turpan-Korla section in the east (457 km) was built from 1974 to 1984.^[2] The western section from Korla to Kashgar (988 km (614 mi)) was built from 1996 to 1999.^[2] From Yanqi to Kashgar, the line followsNational Highway 314. TheKashgar–Hotan railway, originally referred to as Phase III of the Southern Xinjiang railway, opened in 2010. From 2008 to 2013, the Korla to Aksu section, 526.9 km (327 mi) in length, was double-tracked.^[4]

In December 2014, a second double-track electrified line between Turpan and Korla opened to commercial operation.^[5] This new line, called the second Turpan–Korla railway, is 334 km (208 mi) in length.^[5] The line makes use of extensive tunneling to shorten the distance between the two cities by 123 km (76 mi).^[5] The maximum elevation along route is lowered from 2,980 m (9,777 ft) to 1,490 m (4,888 ft), and the steepest incline is reduced from 22.7‰ to 13‰.^[5] The longest tunnel along route, the Middle Tianshan Tunnel, is 22.467 km (14.0 mi) in length and one of thelongest railway tunnels in China.^[5]

On 1 January 2021, a branch from south of Kalpin toTumxuk was opened to passenger service. It is 31 kilometres (19 mi) long and has a design speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).^[6]

• Turpan:Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway
• Kashgar:Kashgar–Hotan railway

• 
  Train No.K169 running on the railway
• 
  Through theTian Shan inHejing County
• 
  Train running between mountains inToksun County,Turpan
• 
  Hejing County section in winter
• 
  Kashgar Station

• List of railways in China

• Railway lines in China
• Rail transport in Xinjiang

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