Hanjialing–Yuanping railway

The Hanjialing–Yuanping railway, also known as the Hanyuan Railway (Chinese: 韩原铁路; pinyin: Hán yuán tiělù), also known as the North Tongpu four-track railway, is a north–south railway located in Shanxi Province. It is the northern part of the Datong–Puzhou railway (Tongpu railway) running from Yuanping in the south to the Datong–Qinhuangdao railway at Hanjialing. The line is a national class I double-track, electrified railway with a total length of 153 kilometres and a design speed of 160 kilometres per hour, built entirely with heavy-duty track. The whole line opened for freight traffic on 25 February 2014[1] and passenger services commenced on March 29 of the same year.[2] Construction of two extra tracks was completed on 1 May 2019.[3]

Hanjialing–Yuanping railway 韩原铁路
Overview
Other name(s)	Hanyuan railway
Status	In operation
Locale	Shanxi
Termini	Hanjialing Yuanping
Service
Type	Class I railway
System	China Railway
Operator(s)	China Railway Taiyuan Group
History
Opened	25 February 2014
Technical
Line length	153 km (95 mi)
Character	Passenger and freight
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius	3,500 m (11,500 ft), 2,800 m (9,200 ft) in difficult areas
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph) with capacity to increase to 200 km/h (120 mph)
Maximum incline	0.6%
Route map km elev Jingbao Railway to Baotou Datong Jingbao Railway to Beijing North Yungang branch Pingwang Kouquan branch Daqin Railway to Qinhuangdao Hanjialing Dazhang HSR from Zhangjiakou Mizhuang crossing loop Dayuan HSR Huairen East Yingxian Shanyin Shuoshan Railway Shuozhou Xiaguanyuan Yuanping West Jingyuan Railway from Beijing West Daxi HSR to Xi'an North Xuegu Yuanping Tongpu Railway to Fenglingdu

In February 2016, Shanxi Province decided to build the Datong–Yuanping HSR. On June 15, the "Environmental Impact Report on the New Daton–Yuanping Railway Passenger Dedicated Line" was published in its entirety.[4] In July, the Shanxi Provincial Development and Reform Commission approved the "Feasibility Study Report on the New Datong–Yuanping Railway Passenger Dedicated Line". On 9 July, the Environmental Protection Department of Shanxi Province approved the "Environmental Impact Report of the New Datong–Yuanping Railway Passenger Dedicated Line". On 12 August, the construction of third and fourth tracks for passenger traffic from Datong to Yuanping commenced next to the North Tongpu Railway, then under construction. However, only about 2.2 kilometres of the subgrade and culvert construction at Shuozhou East railway station was completed, and then construction was suspended.[5]

Subsequently, a new route extending from Ulanqab railway station (in Jining) to Datong and Yuanping was studied. The announcement of the approval of the construction of the new Jining–Datong–Yuanping HSR was made on 18 May 2020.[6][7] On 30 June, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Jining–Datong–Yuanping HSR was held in Shuozhou City.[8]