The Northern Xinjiang railway or Beijiang railway (Chinese: 北疆铁路) is a railway in Xinjiang, China, between Ürümqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang, and Alashankou on the border with Kazakhstan. The railway is 460 km (290 mi) in length and runs along the northern slope of the Tian Shan mountain range, connecting all major cities and towns of the southern Junggar Basin, including Changji, Hutubi, Manas, Shihezi, Kuytun, Wusu, Bortala (Bole), Jinghe and Alashankou.[1] The line extends the Lanzhou–Xinjiang railway west from Ürümqi to the Turkestan–Siberia railway on the Kazakh border and forms a section of the Trans-Eurasian Railway from Rotterdam to Lianyungang. The line opened in 1992.[1] It was partially funded by the government loan of the Soviet Union.[2]
A new double-track line between Ürümqi and Jinghe was built in 2009 to supplement the Northern Xinjiang railway.[3] It is sometimes referred to as the Second Ürümqi–Jinghe railway.
The Northern Xinjiang, Kuytun–Beitun, Altay–Fuyun–Zhundong, and Ürümqi–Dzungaria railways form a loop.[citation needed]
The Kuytun–Beitun branch and the Jinghe–Yining–Khorgas branch were opened in 2009.
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