A bullet train in China ran its first-ever trip from Xining City to Lanzhou City to begin full operations of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed Railway, also known as Lanzhou-Xinjiang Passenger Railway or Lanxin Second Railway, on Dec. 26, Friday.
After the successful test run conducted on June 3, 2014, the China Railway High Speed, its operator, has officially begun full operations as scheduled.
With just a little more than a month before the start of the new set of standards specifications for high-speed rail links are implemented, Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed Railway begins its operations that reduces travel time from almost one full day to less than half a day.
The Lanzhou-Xinjiang High-Speed Railway links Urumqi in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region with Xining and Lanzhou, the capital of Qinghai Province and Gansu Province, respectively. Previously, the Lanxin railway only runs within Gansu and Xinjiang.
Bullet trains traveling the 1,776-kilometer railway system can go up to a speed of 250 kilometers per hour without any problems.
Construction began on Nov. 4, 2009 with 795 kilometers in Gansu, 268 kilometers in Qinghai, and 713 kilometers in Xinjiang. A total of 31 stations have been installed along the length of the railway.
The rail section near Qilianshan Tunnel No. 2 is 3,607 meters above sea level, making it the highest high-speed rail track in the world.
A wind shed will be protecting the trains from constantly blowing desert wind in the hundred-li wind zone near Shanshan. The wind-protection gallery is 67 kilometers long.
It is the first of its kind to exist and operate in Xinjiang Autonomous region.
The total project is estimated to have cost 143.5 billion yuan.