Sichuan–Qinghai railway

Sichuan–Qinghai railway, formerly known as Chengdu–Lanzhou railway during planning and construction, is a railway line under construction in China. The railway connects Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan with Xining, capital of Qinghai, with a branch connecting Chengdu to Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu.

The line was planned and approved in the aftermath of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, in order to improve future transportation in the affected area, through which the line will pass directly.

Profile
The Chengdu–Lanzhou railway has a length of 730.549 km, of which 462 km is new trackage. It is being built as a double-track electrified railway, at the national railway line class I level. It will have an overall design speed of 200 km/h; however, the Chengdu-Jiuzhaigou section will have a reduced speed of 174 km/h in some sections, due to the difficult and mountainous terrain. The total investment is expected to be 61.939 billion yuan.

After the completion of the railway, the distance between Lanzhou and Chengdu will be shortened from 1172 km to 730 km. Run time for train services will be reduced to about 5 hours.

Route
Trains between Qinghai and Chengdu nowadays utilize the Lanzhou–Chongqing railway, switching over to the Xi'an–Chengdu high-speed railway at Guangyuan.

The new Chengdu–Lanzhou railway will head north from the urban area of Chengdu, through Qingbaijiang, Shifang, Mianzhu, Anzhou, and tunnelling through Longmen Mountain to Maoxian, tracing along the Minjiang River valley and on through Chuanzhusi to Jiuzhaigou County. Crossing into the territory of Gansu, across the Bailong River, it joins the Lanzhou-Chongqing HSR at Hadapu, using that railway line to the terminus at Lanzhou West station.

In the early design plan, the railway will pass through Minshan Mountain after Chuanzhusi station, enter Gansu, cross the Bailong River, and connect with the Lanzhou-Chongqing railway at Hadapu station, and share the same line with the Lanzhou-Chongqing railway to the end of Lanzhou East station. In subsequent adjustments, the route north of Huangshengguan station was changed to an integrated design with Chengdu-Xining railway and no longer connected to the Lanzhou-Chongqing railway. The new line will extend from Huangshengguan station to the northwest and enter Gannan via Zoige. It will connect with the Lanzhou-Hezuo railway in Hezuo City. It will then enter Lanzhou via Gannan and Linxia.

A branch will extend from Hezuo to Xining, providing a more direct route between Xining and Chengdu.

Main

 * Note: The three-station extension from Zhenjiangguan to Huangshengguan is expected to open in 2024.

History
Construction on the railway started on 26 February 2011 in Songpan County, Sichuan.

The section from Chengdu East to Zhenjiangguan opened in November 2023. The three-station extension from Zhenjiangguan to Huangshengguan is expected to open in 2024. The entire railway line to be opened in 2026.