New rail line closes loop around Xinjiang desert

Carrying its first passengers, train No 5818 left Hotan in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region at 11:30 am on Thursday and arrived at its destination — Urumqi, the region's capital — at 11:53 am on Friday.

The new line links Hotan with Ruoqiang county in Bayingolin Mongol autonomous prefecture. It also forms the world's first railway loop circling a desert after connecting to the Korla-Kashgar, Kashgar-Hotan and Golmud-Korla lines, forming a 2,712-kilometer loop circling the Taklimakan.

Construction of the 825-kilometer line began in 2018. It is designed for trains running up to 120 kilometers per hour, cutting travel time between Hotan and Ruoqiang to 11.5 hours.

For 74-year-old Oram Aisa, the new line makes it easier to visit his daughter, who works in Urumqi.

Aisa, a retired worker in Qira county, seldom traveled outside his home county because of inconvenient traffic.

"With the opening of the new line, the first railway station has been put into use in our county. I can get on the train without traveling to other stations far from my home," he said.

"I spent only 328 yuan on a sleeper ticket from Qira to Urumqi. In the future, I will have more opportunities to look at the outside world, as well as to visit my daughter."

Two passenger trains are scheduled each day, along with eight freight trains that will transport cotton, walnuts, dates and other commodities to the rest of China.

"In the past, we had to transport our products via road, which costs more than rail," said Jiang Dejun, owner of an agricultural machinery manufacturing company in Qiemo county.

"Now the rail freight service can help us save money and shorten transport time."