The 1,214.6-kilometer Golmud-Korla railway, linking Golmud in Qinghai province and Korla in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, opened for traffic on Dec 9.
A main part of Xinjiang's railway network, it winds through the Qaidam and Tarim basins and the Altun Mountains.
Conditions in the area of high-altitude, cold and depopulated region, which is ecologically fragile and sandy, brought great difficulties to workers' construction.
Prefabricated structures were adopted to lower construction costs and improve engineering quality.
In addition, some unattended stations were built along the railway, which reduced investment and will cut down on operation costs.
The Golmud-Korla railway is the third of its kind in Xinjiang and one of the land routes linking China to Europe and West Asia.
Its operation is expected to boost development of West China and to promote regional economic and social development in Qinghai and Xinjiang.
The project was surveyed and designed by China Railway First Survey and Design Institute Group Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC). Several other CRCC subsidiaries also participated in the construction.
A view of the Taitema Lake Bridge [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Huanxiquan Grand Bridge [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The Nalenggele Bridge [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
To protect the environment and preserve the local forests' function of wind prevention and sand fixation, the railway winds around forested areas. [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
(Executive editor: Wang Ruoting)
