Hotan–Ruoqiang railway

Chinese train line
4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gaugeOperating 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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