Longhai Railway

Longhai Railway
Line length:1,759 km (1,093 mi)
Track gauge:1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Stations and structures
Legend
0 km Lianyungang East Station
33 km Lianyungang
73 km Donghai County
114 km Xinyi
to Xinyi–Changxing Railway
151 km Pi County
to Beijing–Shanghai Railway
223 km Xuzhou
306 km Dangshan
369 km Shangqiu
457 km Lankao
500 km Kaifeng
to Beijing–Guangzhou Railway
572 km Zhengzhou
642 km Gongyi
to Jiaozuo–Liuzhou Railway
696 km Luoyang
841 km Sanmenxia West Station
871 km Lingbao
to Houxi and Ningxi Railways
to Xi'an–Ankang Railway
1083 km Xi'an
to Baotou–Xi'an Railway
to Xianyang–Tongchuan Railway
1106 km Xianyang
1156 km Wugong
to Baoji–Zhongwei Railway
1256 km Baoji
to Baoji–Chengdu Railway
1411 km Tianshui
1478 km Gangu
1557 km Longxi
1641 km Dingxi
1759 km Lanzhou
to Lanzhou–Qinghai Railway
to Lanzhou–Xinjiang Railway

The Longhai railway (simplified Chinese: 陇海铁路; traditional Chinese: 隴海鐵路; pinyin: Lǒnghǎi Tiělù), formerly romanized as the Lunghai Railway, is a major arterial east-west railway in China. It runs from Lianyungang, Jiangsu on the Yellow Sea to Lanzhou, Gansu through the provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, Shaanxi, and Gansu, covering a total length of 1,759 kilometres. The line is named after Gansu, also known as Long (陇) in Chinese and Lianyungang's previous name, Haizhou.[1] The Longhai Line is one of the busiest Chinese railways. It has dual tracks throughout the whole line, and the lines between Xuzhou, Jiangsu and Lanzhou, Gansu has been electrified.

History

The Longhai Railway was built over the course of half a century by four different governments of China: the Qing Dynasty, Beiyang Government, Nationalist Republican government and the Communist government of the People's Republic.

The first section of the railway, entirely within Henan, from Kaifeng to Luoyang was built from 1905 to 1909 by a venture between the Qing Dynasty and a Belgian joint-stock company backed by France and Russia.[1] This line, known as the Bianliang-Luoyang Railway, began operation on January 1, 1910.[1]

Longhai Railway bombarded during World War II.

The line was extended eastward to Xuzhou in 1916 and to Haizhou in 1923 with Dutch financing.[1] In the west, the line was extended to Lingbao, Henan in 1927 with Belgian financing.[1] After the Northern Expedition, the Nanjing-based Republican government took control of construction and extended the line further west to Tongguan, Shaanxi in 1931, to Xi'an in 1934, to Baoji, Shaanxi in 1936 and Tianshui, Gansu in 1945.[1]

Construction of the Tianshui to Lanzhou section, entirely within Gansu, broke ground in May 1946 but was halted by Chinese Civil War, then resumed under the People's Republic in April 1950 and was completed in July 1953.[1] At this time, the entire Longhai Railway entered into operation.[1]

No. 8 Bridge on the Longhai Railway rebuilt by the PLA Rail Corps in 1950.

In the late 1950s through early 1960s, new railways were built from Lanzhou to the west: the Lanxin Railway to Xinjiang (later connected to Kazakhstan) and the Lanqing Railway to Qinghai (later extended to Tibet).

From 1956 to 1970, the section between Zhengzhou, Henan to Baoji, Shaanxi was upgraded to the dual-track line. During the same time, in Henan the line near Sanmenxia was re-routed due to the Sanmenxia Reservoir Project. Zhengzhou to Shangqiu section was converted to dual-track in 1980.

The railway is a central section in the New Eurasian Land Bridge.

Cities and rail junctions along route

Jiangsu
Anhui
Henan
Shaanxi
Gansu
The Primary stops on the Longhai Railway for passenger rail

High-speed rail line parallel to the Longhai

The Xuzhou-Lanzhou High-Speed Railway, a high-speed rail line parallel to the Longhai Line, is being constructed. The Zhengzhou-Xi'an section opened in February 2010.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Longhai Railway.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (Chinese)　"西起陇原东到海，回头已是百年身--陇海铁路传略" 2011-04-29
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