The Xiangyang–Chongqing railway or Xiangyu railway (襄渝铁路), also known as the Xiangfan-Chongqing railway and Xiangyu line (襄渝线), is a single-track electrified

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in central China between the cities of

Xiangyang Xiangyang is the second-largest prefecture-level city by population in northwestern Hubei province, China. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River (Hanshui), Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city n ...

, formerly known as Xiangfan, and

Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...

. The short form name for Chongqing is Yu (渝) and the railway is named after the two cities. It has a total length of 895.3 km and passes through

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

and

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 ...

province, and Chongqing municipality. Major cities along route include

Shiyan Shiyan ( zh, s=十堰 , p=Shíyàn) is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei, China, bordering Henan to the northeast, Chongqing to the southwest, and Shaanxi to the north and west. At the 2020 census, its population was 3,209,004 of who ...

Ankang Ankang ( zh , c = 安康 , p = Ānkāng ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the s ...

Dazhou Dazhou ( zh, s= 达州 , t= 達州 , p=Dázhōu , w=Ta-chou) is a prefecture-level city in the northeast corner of Sichuan province, China, bordering Shaanxi to the north and Chongqing to the east and south. As of 2020 census, Dazhou was home t ...

and

Guang'an Guang'an is a prefecture-level city in eastern Sichuan province. It is most famous as the birthplace of China's former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping. Guang'an lies between the hills of central Sichuan and the gorges area of the east. Guang'an ...

. The Xiangyu railway is a major transportation route that connects the

Sichuan Basin The Sichuan Basin (), formerly transliterated as the Szechwan Basin, sometimes called the Red Basin, is a lowland region in southwestern China. It is surrounded by mountains on all sides and is drained by the upper Yangtze River and its tributar ...

with the Central Plains. It was built from 1964 to 1979, and electrified in three phases from 1980 to 1998. Trains running on the Xiangyu line can reach top speeds of 100–120 km/h. Construction of a second track began in 2005 and was completed in 2009.

Second Xiangyu line

The second Xiangfan–Chongqing railway () is a dual-track electrified railroad line that runs parallel to the Xiangyu line. This line is only 507 km in length and connects the same cities as the original Xiangyu line. It takes a more direct route through the mountainous terrain with bridges and tunnels, and accommodates faster trains (up to 160 km/h) and a greater carrying capacity. Construction began on August 13, 2005. and was scheduled to be completed by July 2008, but work was slowed by difficulties in bridge and tunnel work which pushed the project 30% over budget. The New Iron Mountain Tunnel (), 3,347 m length, was completed on April 20, 2007 after 20 months of difficult work, overcoming interior rockslides and carbon monoxide build-up inside the tunnel. The second Xiangyu line opened on October 31, 2009.

Rail junctions

Jiaozuo–Liuzhou railway The Jiaozuo–Liuzhou railway or Jiaoliu railway (), is a major trunkline railroad in China between Jiaozuo in central China and Liuzhou in southern China. The line is long and runs north–south through four provinces.(Chinese焦柳铁路简� ...

, Hankou–Danjiangkou railway *

: Xi'an–Ankang railway,

Yangpingguan–Ankang railway The Yangpingguan–Ankang railway or Yang'an railway (), is a single-track, electrified railroad in China between Yangpingguan and Ankang in southern Shaanxi Province. The line, in length, follows the upper reaches of the Han River and wa ...

: Dazhou–Chengdu railway,

Bazhong–Dazhou railway The Bazhong–Dazhou railway () is a railway line in 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 Y ...

Chengdu–Chongqing railway Chengdu–Chongqing railway or Chengyu railway ( zh, s=成渝铁路, t=成渝鐵路, p=chéngyú tiělù), is a single-track electrified railroad in the Sichuan Basin of Southwest China between the cities Chengdu and Chongqing. Chongqing's short ...

, Chongqing–Huaihua railway,

Sichuan–Guizhou railway The Sichuan–Guizhou railway or Chuanqian railway (), is a single-track electrified railroad in southwest China between Chongqing Municipality and Guiyang, Guizhou Province. The shorthand name for the line, Chuanqian, is derived from the shorth ...

, Suining–Chongqing railway

Painting of the Xiangyu line

The Xiangyu line is the subject of an enormous landscape scroll painting that is 1.6 m wide and 128 m long. It was completed by Yang Migui in May 2008 who was a worker on the line's construction in the 1970s, and began working on the painting in 1998. It is reportedly the world's longest painting created by a single artist.Yi Hu, "世界最长个人油画完成汉中画家记录襄渝铁路巨变" ''西安晚报''
Oct. 20, 2008

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xiangyang-Chongqing Railway Railway lines in China Rail transport in Chongqing Rail transport in Hubei Rail transport in Shaanxi

Second Xiangyu line

Rail junctions

Painting of the Xiangyu line

See also

Notes