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 Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

, the provincial capital of

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

with

Xining Xining is the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. As of the 2020 census, it had 2,467,965 inhabitants (2,208,708 as of 2010), of whom 1,954,795 l ...

, capital of

Qinghai Qinghai is an inland Provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. It is the largest provinces of China, province of China (excluding autonomous regions) by area and has the third smallest population. Its capital and largest city is Xin ...

, with a branch connecting Chengdu to

Lanzhou Lanzhou is the capital and largest city of Gansu province in northwestern China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. His ...

, the capital of

Gansu Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...

. It forms part of the Lanzhou (Xining)–Guangzhou corridor, part of China's "Eight Vertical and Eight Horizontal" network. The line was planned and approved in the aftermath of the

2008 Sichuan earthquake An earthquake occurred in the province of Sichuan, China at 14:28:01 China Standard Time on May 12, 2008. Measuring at 8.0 (7.9–8.3 ), the earthquake's epicenter was located boxing the compass, west-northwest of Chengdu, the provincial ...

, 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 , of which is new trackage. It is being built as a

double-track A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track. Overview In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most lin ...

electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

railway, at the national railway line class I level. It will have an overall design speed of ; however, the Chengdu-Jiuzhaigou section will have a reduced speed of 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 to . 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 Xi'an–Chengdu high-speed railway or Xi'an-Chengdu Passenger Dedicated Line, is a double track, dual-track, Railway electrification system, electrified, high-speed rail in China, high-speed rail line in Western China between Xi'an and Chengdu, ...

Guangyuan Guangyuan ( zh, s= , t=廣元 , p=Guǎngyuán , w=Kuang-yüan) is a prefecture-level city in Sichuan Province, China, bordering the provinces of Shaanxi to the northeast and Gansu to the northwest. Guangyuan City is located on the northern edge ...

. The new Chengdu–Lanzhou railway will head north from the urban area of Chengdu, through Qingbaijiang,

Shifang Shifang is a county-level city in Sichuan, China, under administration of Deyang prefecture-level city. It is located directly about from Chengdu. It had an area of and a population of 406,775 in 2020. Shifang has a history stretching ba ...

Mianzhu Mianzhu ( zh, s=绵竹, t=綿竹, w=Mienchu, p=Miánzhú) is a county-level city of Deyang, Sichuan province in Southwest China. It has an area of and a population of 439,958 in 2020 census. Administrative divisions Mianzhu has 2 subdistricts ...

, 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 The Bailong River () or Khuchu, Drukchu () is a 576km-long river in the Yangtze River basin. From its source to confluence with the Jialing River, the Bailong is actually longer and is thus the main stem of the Jialing River system. The scenic Jiu ...

, 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.

Stations

Main

Branch

History

Construction on the railway started on 26 February 2011 in

Songpan County Songpan County, formerly Songzhou, is a county in northwestern Sichuan province, China, and is one of the 13 counties administered by the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture. It has an area of , and a population of approximately 68,000 ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sichuan-Qinghai railway Railway lines in China Rail transport in Gansu Rail transport in Qinghai Rail transport in Sichuan Railway lines opened in 2023