Southern Xinjiang railway



The Southern Xinjiang railway or Nanjiang railway, is a railway between Turpan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. The railway is 1446 km in length and runs along the southern slope of the Tian Shan mountain range, connecting all major cities and towns of the Northern Tarim Basin, including Turpan, Hejing, Yanqi, Korla, Luntai (Bügür), Kuqa, Toksu (Xinhe), Aksu, Maralbexi (Bachu), Artux, and Kashgar.

The line joins the Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway at Turpan (connecting to Ürümqi) and the Kashgar–Hotan railway in Kashgar. It also forms the Taklimakan Desert railway loop, together with sections of the Hotan–Ruoqiang railway, Kashgar–Hotan railway, and Golmud–Korla railway.

History
The Southern Xinjiang railway was built from east to west. The Turpan-Korla section in the east (457 km) was built from 1974 to 1984. The western section from Korla to Kashgar (988 km) was built from 1996 to 1999. From Yanqi to Kashgar, the line follows National Highway 314. The Kashgar–Hotan railway, originally referred to as Phase III of the Southern Xinjiang railway, opened in 2010. From 2008 to 2013, the Korla to Aksu section, 526.9 km in length, was double-tracked.

In December 2014, a second double-track electrified line between Turpan and Korla opened to commercial operation. This new line, called the second Turpan–Korla railway, is 334 km in length. The line makes use of extensive tunneling to shorten the distance between the two cities by 123 km. The maximum elevation along route is lowered from 2980 m to 1490 m, and the steepest incline is reduced from 22.7‰ to 13‰. The longest tunnel along route, the Middle Tianshan Tunnel, is 22.467 km in length and one of the longest railway tunnels in China.

On 1 January 2021, a branch from south of Kalpin to Tumxuk was opened to passenger service. It is 31 km long and has a design speed of 100 km/h.

Rail connections

 * Turpan: Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway
 * Kashgar: Kashgar–Hotan railway