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Bullet trains can reach speeds of up to 250km/h on the newly opened 1,776km line. Photo: Xinhua

China extends high-speed railway network to remote Xinjiang

The restive far-western region of Xinjiang was tied closer to the rest of the mainland yesterday with the opening of a high-speed rail line between its remote capital and a city nearly 1,800km away.

AFP

The restive far-western region of Xinjiang was tied closer to the rest of the mainland yesterday with the opening of a high-speed rail line between its remote capital and a city nearly 1,800km away.

A bullet train, which is capable of travelling at speeds of up to 250km/h, left the western city of Lanzhou for Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi , with female attendants in ethnic costumes serving 622 passengers, the state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported.

The line, the first linking Xinjiang to a neighbouring region, stretched through rugged terrain including vast deserts, the high-altitude Qilian mountain range an ancient section of the Great Wall, and strong wind zones, slashing the travel time between the two cities by half to less than 12 hours, CCTV said.

Two other fast rail lines on the mainland were launched yesterday, meaning more than 3,200km of high-speed track was put into use in a single day, highlighting the rapid development of the country's network.

The western high-speed railway comes as China is pushing a Silk Road Economic Belt to boost commercial ties with countries in Central Asia, including Kazakhstan, and ultimately to Europe.

Also opening yesterday were lines linking the prosperous southern commercial hub of Guangzhou with Guiyang in the underdeveloped province of Guizhou , and Nanning in neighbouring Guangxi , Xinhua reported.

The mainland has long boasted an extensive rail system, but in recent years has pushed the development of super-fast trains that have cut travel times between major cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, and made rail travel competitive with flying.

Xinjiang, a vast area bordering Central Asia, is home to Uygurs and other mostly Muslim ethnic groups.

It has long had a population of Han, the country's dominant nationality, whose numbers have increased strongly over the past half-century through migration.

Though rich in natural resources such as oil and gas, the region has been the scene of ethnic and religious unrest characterised by clashes between local groups and the authorities as well as violence both inside and outside the region that the government has classified as religious-inspired terrorism.

The central government is engaged in a crackdown on militancy in the region and earlier this month a court condemned eight people to death for two deadly attacks in Urumqi, state media said, bringing the number of death penalties or executions announced for Xinjiang-related violence to about 50 since June.

Xinhua reported that the line linking Gansu's capital of Lanzhou to Urumqi is 1,776km long. Construction on the rail line started in November 2009, mainland media reported previously. A section linking Urumqi and the Xinjiang city of Hami opened last month.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Xinjiang linked up to high-speed rail network
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