Hotan–Ruoqiang railway
Chinese train line
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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][6]
| Hotan–Ruoqiang (Qakilik) railway | |
|---|---|
Location of the railway in Xinjiang, China | |
| Overview | |
| Native name | 和若铁路 |
| Status | Operational |
| Termini |
|
| Continues from | Kashgar–Hotan railway |
| Connecting lines | Golmud–Korla railway |
| Service | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| History | |
| Opened | 2022 |
| 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) |
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.[7] 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.[8]
On March 12, 2022, the Hotan–Ruoqiang railway passed its dynamic acceptance inspection. On June 15, ticket sales for the railway officially began, and on June 16, the line formally commenced operations.[9][10]
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.[11][12][4] The longest is Niya River Grand Bridge, which has a total length of 18,628.46 metres (61,117 ft 0 in).[13] 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).[14]
