The Jingyihuo railway (), short for Jinghe–Yining–Khorgas railway, is the first

electrified railway A railway electrification system supplies electric power to railway trains and trams without an on-board prime mover or local fuel supply. Electric railways use either electric locomotives (hauling passengers or freight in separate cars), ele ...

in operation in Xinjiang, China. The line is 286 km in length and connects Jinghe,

Yining YiningThe official spelling according to (), also known as Ghulja ( ug, غۇلجا) or Qulja ( kk, قۇلجا) and formerly Ningyuan (), is a county-level city in Northwestern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China and the seat of the Ili Kazakh ...

and

Khorgos Khorgas, officially known as KorgasThe official spelling according to , (Beijing, ''SinoMaps Press'' 1997); ( zh, s=霍尔果斯, t=霍爾果斯, p=Huò'ěrguǒsī; kk, قورعاس, Qorǵas), also known as ''Chorgos'', ''Gorgos'', ''Horgos' ...

.(Chinese
"新疆首条电气化铁路-精伊霍铁路18日正式通车运营"
2009-12-19 The Jingyihuo railway branches from the Northern Xinjiang railway at Jinghe in the

Junggar Basin The Junggar Basin () is one of the largest sedimentary basins in Northwest China. It is located in Xinjiang, and enclosed by the Tarbagatai Mountains of Kazakhstan in the northwest, the Altai Mountains of Mongolia in the northeast, and the Heaven ...

and heads south through the

Tian Shan The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

range into the

Ili River The Ili ( ug, ئىلى دەرياسى, Ili deryasi, Ili dəryasi, 6=Или Дәряси; kk, Ile, ; russian: Или; zh, c=伊犁河, p=Yīlí Hé, dng, Йили хә, Xiao'erjing: اِلِ حْ; mn, Ил, literally "Bareness") is a river sit ...

Valley. Cities and towns along route include Jinghe,

Nilka County The Nilka County is a county situated within the Xinjiang, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. It contains an area of . According to the 2002 census, it has a population of . ...

Yining County Yining County ( zh, s=伊宁县) as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Gulja County ( ug, غۇلجا ناھىيىسى; zh, s=固勒扎县), is a county within the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture of the Xinjiang Uyg ...

Huocheng County Huocheng County () as the official romanized name, also transliterated from Uyghur as Korgas County (; ), is situated within the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and under the administration of the Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. It is locate ...

and Khorgos, on the border with

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

.(Chinese
"国家重点工程电气化铁路精伊霍铁路通车"
2009-12-18 The line opened to trial operation in December 2009. Passenger train service to the Yining railway station () began in July 2010.(Chinese

2010-07-02 One of the three daily Ürümqi-Yining passenger trains (all running overnight) was extended to Khorgos in December 2013. On its way from the

Dzungarian Basin The Junggar Basin () is one of the largest sedimentary basins in Northwest China. It is located in Xinjiang, and enclosed by the Tarbagatai Mountains of Kazakhstan in the northwest, the Altai Mountains of Mongolia in the northeast, and the Tian Sh ...

(where the Northern Xinjiang railway runs) to the

Ili Ili, ILI, Illi may refer to: Abbreviations * Irish Life International, part of Irish Life and Permanent * Intuitive Logical Introvert, a personality type in socionics * Influenza-like illness * Iran Language Institute, a state-owned, non-profit ...

Valley (where Yining is), the railway crosses the Borohoro Mountain Range (one of the ranges of the

) in the 13-km long North Tianshan Tunnel (). The Jinghe–Yining section is electrified.

Connections

In December 2011, a 293-km railway on the Kazakhstan side of the border connected the Khorgos border crossing to Zhetigen terminal (near

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

). A regular passenger service between Almaty and the

Altynkol railway station Altynkol Railway Station (russian: Станция Алтынколь) is located in Khorgas, Panfilov District, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan, the border of China and Kazakhstan, a spur line railway station of Kazakhstan Temir Zholy. The Chinese s ...

on the Kazakh side of the border opposite Khorgos opened in September 2012. The railway border crossing (freight

port of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internati ...

) at

became operational in December 2012.新疆霍尔果斯火车站获批成立年底有望通车
, 中国新闻网, 2012-11-23Железнодорожный пункт пропуска Алтынколь - Хоргос откроется к концу 2012 года
(The Altynkol-Khorgos railway border crossing will open by the end of 2012), 2012-08-28

References

Railway lines in China Rail transport in Xinjiang {{PRChina-rail-transport-stub