Southern Xinjiang Railway

The Southern Xinjiang Railway or Nanjiang Railway (simplified Chinese: 南疆铁路; traditional Chinese: 南疆鐵路; pinyin: nánjiāng tiělù) is a railway between Turpan and Kashgar in Xinjiang, China. The railway is 1,446 km (899 mi) 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.

The line joins the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway at Turpan (connecting to Urumqi) and the Kashgar-Hotan Railway in Kashgar.

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. The western section from Korla to Kashgar (988 km (614 mi)) was built from 1996 to 1999. 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 Kuqa section, 526.9 km (327 mi) in length, was double-tracked.

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