| Southern Xinjiang railway | |
| Type: | Heavy rail |
| System: | China Railway |
| Status: | Operational |
| Locale: | |
| Start: | Turpan railway station |
| End: | Kashgar railway station |
| Open: | 1984 (Turpan–Korla) 1999 (Korla–Kashgar) |
| Operator: | China Railway Ürümqi Group |
| Linelength: | 1930km (1,200miles) |
| Tracks: | 2 (Turpan–Aksu; Double-track railway) 1 (Aksu–Kashgar; Single-track railway) |
| Electrification: | 25 kV AC, 50 Hz (Turpan–Korla) |
| Speed: | 160km/h |
| Minradius: | 8000NaN0 |
| Elevation: | 2.2% |
The Southern Xinjiang railway or Nanjiang railway, is a railway between Turpan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. The railway is 14460NaN0 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.[1] [2]
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.[3]
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.[2] The western section from Korla to Kashgar (9880NaN0) was built from 1996 to 1999.[2] 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, 526.90NaN0 in length, was double-tracked.[4]
In December 2014, a second double-track electrified line between Turpan and Korla opened to commercial operation.[5] This new line, called the second Turpan–Korla railway, is 3340NaN0 in length.[5] The line makes use of extensive tunneling to shorten the distance between the two cities by 1230NaN0.[5] The maximum elevation along route is lowered from 29800NaN0 to 14900NaN0, and the steepest incline is reduced from 22.7‰ to 13‰.[5] The longest tunnel along route, the Middle Tianshan Tunnel, is 22.4671NaN1 in length and one of the longest railway tunnels in China.[5]
On 1 January 2021, a branch from south of Kalpin to Tumxuk was opened to passenger service. It is 31km (19miles) long and has a design speed of 100km/h.[6]
| Station | Chinese | Distance (km) | Location | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turpan Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway | Chinese: [[:zh:吐鲁番站|吐鲁番]] | 0 | Gaochang | Turpan | |
| Chinese: 龙盘 | |||||
| Chinese: 铁泉 | |||||
| Chinese: 珍珠泉 | |||||
| Chinese: 红山渠 | |||||
| Chinese: 托克逊 | Toksun County | ||||
| Chinese: 望布 | |||||
| Chinese: 布尔加依 | |||||
| Yurgou | Chinese: 鱼儿沟 | Dabancheng | Ürümqi | ||
| Chinese: 祖鲁木台 | Toksun County | Turpan | |||
| Chinese: 喀尔干特 | |||||
| Chinese: 夏格泽 | |||||
| Chinese: 星源 | |||||
| Chinese: 国光 | Hejing County | Bayingolin Prefecture | |||
| Chinese: 阿拉沟 | |||||
| Chinese: 库林阿曼 | |||||
| Chinese: 德代沟 | |||||
| Chinese: 德文托盖 | |||||
| Chinese: 扎和萨拉 | |||||
| Chinese: 乌斯特 | |||||
| Chinese: 哈尔格 | |||||
| Chinese: 胜利桥 | |||||
| Chinese: 上新光 | |||||
| Chinese: 下新光 | |||||
| Chinese: 哈让古 | |||||
| Chinese: 巴伦台 | |||||
| Chinese: 胡斯台 | |||||
| Chinese: 大西沟 | |||||
| Chinese: 天桥南 | |||||
| Chinese: 莫嘎图 | |||||
| Hejing | Chinese: 和静 | 369 | |||
| Chinese: 八棵树 | |||||
| Chinese: 幸福滩 | |||||
| Yanqi | Chinese: 焉耆 | 400 | Yanqi County | ||
| Chinese: 包尔海 | |||||
| Chinese: 紫泥泉 | |||||
| Chinese: 塔什店 | Korla | ||||
| Chinese: 云崖 | |||||
| Chinese: [[:zh:库尔勒站|库尔勒]] | 457 | ||||
| Chinese: 库北 | |||||
| Chinese: 库西 | |||||
| Chinese: 肖塔 | |||||
| Chinese: 库鲁克 | Luntai County | ||||
| Chinese: 野云沟 | |||||
| Chinese: 策达雅 | |||||
| Chinese: 阳霞 | |||||
| Chinese: 塔拉克 | |||||
| Luntai | Chinese: 轮台 | ||||
| Chinese: 二八台 | Kuqa County | Aksu Prefecture | |||
| Chinese: 雅克拉 | |||||
| Chinese: 牙哈 | |||||
| Kuqa | Chinese: [[:zh:库车站|库车]] | 740 | |||
| Kuqa West Kuqa–Ehuobulake Railway | Chinese: 库车西 | ||||
| Xinhe | Chinese: 新和 | 779 | Xinhe County | ||
| Chinese: 伊斯克苏 | |||||
| Chinese: 特尔希克 | |||||
| Chinese: 羊塔克库都克 | |||||
| Chinese: 咸水沟 | Wensu County | ||||
| Chinese: 喀拉玉尔滚 | |||||
| Chinese: 帕满 | |||||
| Aksu | Chinese: [[:zh:阿克苏站|阿克苏]] | 983 | Aksu | ||
| Chinese: 三角地 | |||||
| Chinese: 金银川 | |||||
| Chinese: 柯坪 | Kalpin County | ||||
| Chinese: 一间房 | Bachu County | Kashi Prefecture | |||
| Bachu | Chinese: 巴楚 | 1,200 | |||
| Chinese: 五道班 | |||||
| Chinese: 西格尔 | Artux | Kizilsu Prefecture | |||
| Chinese: 八盘磨 | |||||
| Artux | Chinese: 阿图什 | 1,410 | |||
| Kashi Kashgar–Hotan railway | Chinese: [[:zh:喀什站|喀什]] | 1,445 | Kashi | Kashi Prefecture | |