Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway deploys more powerful, faster electric engines

TWO electric locomotives pulling a freight train recently set off from the Urumqi Western Railway Station, marking the completion of electrification of the full line of Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, which enables faster rail movement.

The Eurasian Land Bridge, the rail transport route where Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway is an important of part, will enjoy increased capacity thanks to the electrification of the railway, reports Xinhua.

The Lanzhou-Xinjiang railway starts from Lanzhou city in Gansu province in the east and terminates at Xinjiang's Sino-Kazakh border city of Alashankou 2,415 kilometres away. Railway construction started in 1952 and was much later connected with Kazakhstan's railway network in 1990, forming the Eurasian Land Bridge that extends from eastern China's sea port city Lianyungang to Rotterdam, shortening the distance from China to Europe by 5,000 nautical miles while cutting cost by 20 per cent and a times by 70 per cent, the report claimed.

The railway's section from Lanzhou to Jiayuguan has been electrified earlier. In order to raise the speed of it, China started the electrification project on the rest of the line in 2008.

The upgraded Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway will serve passenger and freight customers. The railway authority will deploy 105 electric-powered locomotives on the line, which has a power of 7,200 kilowatts, compared to 2,000-kilowatt diesel locomotives in use before, while energy consumption is two thirds lower, the report claimed.