Hotan–Ruoqiang railway

Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway
Location of the railway in Xinjiang, China
Overview
Native name和若铁路
StatusOperational
Termini
Continues fromKashgar–Hotan railway
Connecting linesGolmud–Korla railway
Service
TypeHeavy rail
History
Opened2022
Technical
Line length825.5 km (513 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Operating speed120 km/h (75 mph)

The Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway or Heruo Railway (Chinese: 和若铁路) is a 825.5 km long railway line connecting the cities of Hotan and Ruoqiang in southern Xinjiang, China that opened on 16 June 2022 with a design speed of 120 kilometres per hour (75 mph). It serves over 10 million people with 20 new stations.[1][2][3][4] Heruo Railway is part of the Taklimakan Desert railway loop, together with sections of the Southern Xinjiang railway, Kashgar–Hotan railway, and Golmud–Korla railway.[5]

History

Construction on the line began in December 2018.[4] Tracklaying began in May 2020 and by April 2021, over half the track had been laid.[1] On 27 September 2021, the construction of the track was fully completed with the laying of the last length of track.[6] Rail welding was completed on 28 October 2021, with track bed tamping and fine adjustment of the line required before scheduled opening of the entire line in 2022.[7]

Route

The line is 825.5 kilometres (512.9 mi) long and runs from west to east.[1] In Hotan it continues as the Kashgar–Hotan railway and in Qakilik (Ruoqiang), Ruoqiang (Qakilik) County it branches off the Golmud–Korla railway. Together with those railways it forms a 2,712 km (1,685 mi) loop around the west of the Tarim Basin, linking Hotan, Lop, Qira, Yutian, Minfeng, Qiemo and Bayingolin.[4]

The route includes five viaducts over the sand with a combined length of 49.7 km (30.9 mi), designed to allow sandstorms to blow under them. 434 bridge piers were factory-built and assembled on site.[8][9][4] The longest is Niya River Grand Bridge, which has a total length of 18,628.46 metres (61,117 ft 0 in).[10] Further protection against sand has been provided by putting about 13 million shrubs, such as sacsaoul and sea buckthorn, into 5,000 ha (12,000 acres) of grass grids[4] (straw-edged rectangles of about a metre square).[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c "456公里，和若铁路铺轨过半" [456 km, over half the track for the Hotan–Ruoqiang railway has been laid] (in Chinese). cnr.cn. 30 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. ^ "国家发改委同意新建和田至若羌铁路，总投资221.5亿元" (in Chinese). Sina. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  3. ^ "和若铁路正式"闭环"". 高铁网 (in Chinese). 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-11-20.
  4. ^ a b c d e "China opens last section of world's first rail loop around desert". Latest News - The Nation. 20 Jun 2022. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  5. ^ Zhang, Kate (17 June 2022). "New railway completes 2,700km loop of Taklamakan Desert in move to integrate Xinjiang with rest of China". South China Morning Post.
  6. ^ "完成铺轨，沙漠环形铁路网闭环" [Completed track laying, the desert loop railway line is completed]. 高铁网 (in Chinese). 2021-09-29. Retrieved 2021-09-29.
  7. ^ "新疆和若铁路全线焊轨完成" [The rail welding of Xinjiang Heruo Railway is completed]. 中国新闻网 (China News Network) (in Chinese). 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  8. ^ "Hotan – Ruoqiang opening completes Taklimakan desert loop". Railway Gazette International. 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  9. ^ "Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway Project, China". Railway Technology. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  10. ^ "Construction of Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway Underway in China's Xinjiang". 2020-12-02.
  11. ^ 江巍 (15 Jun 2021). "New tool, methods turn Ningxia deserts green". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2022-06-24.


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