Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Native name | 和若é“è·¯ |
Status | Operational |
Termini | |
Continues from | Kashgar–Hotan railway |
Connecting lines | Golmud–Korla railway |
Service | |
Type | Heavy rail |
Technical | |
Line length | 825.5 km (513 mi) |
Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge |
Operating speed | 120 km/h (75 mph) |
The Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway or Heruo Railway ( Chinese: 和若é“è·¯) 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]
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]
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]