Datong–Qinhuangdao Railway

Daqin Railway (simplified Chinese: 大秦铁路; traditional Chinese: 大秦鐵路; pinyin: dàqín tiělù), also known as the Daqin Line (simplified Chinese: 大秦线; traditional Chinese: 大秦線; pinyin: dàqín xiàn), is a 653 km coal-transport railway in north China. Its name is derived from its two terminal cities, Datong, a coal mining center in Shanxi province, and Qinhuangdao, of Hebei province, on the Bohai Sea.

The railway also passes through the municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin. Unlike most other railways in China, which are run by the Ministry of Railways, the Daqin Railway is operated by Daqin Railway Company Limited, a publicly-traded stock company.

The electrified double track line serves as a major conduit for moving coal produced in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia to Qinhuangdao, China's largest coal-exporting seaport, from there coal is shipped to south China and other countries in Asia.

The line was constructed in two phases between December 1984 and December 1992, with specifications changed from single-track to double-track during construction.^[1] Design capacity was 100 million tons a year, which it reached after ten years, but continuous upgrades (wider subgrade, 75 kg/m rails, wagons with higher capacity and top speed, longer trains and stronger locomotives, radio operation and centralised traffic control, automatic train inspection) quadrupled capacity.^[2] It carries more coal than any other railway line in China and the world.

Freight trains operating on the Daqin Line can carry up to 20,000 metric tons, the largest carrying capacity in China.^[3]

Year	Transport volume (metric tons)
...
1995	20 million[1]
...
2000	60.52 million[1]
...
2002	100 million[2]
2003	120 million[4]
2004	153 million[5]
2005	203 million[5]
2006	250 million[6]
2007	300 million[7]
2008	340 million[2]
2009	330 million[8]
2010	380 million planned[8]

See also

• Coal energy in China
• List of railways in China
• Rail transport in the People's Republic of China

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Dadong-Qinhuangdao Railway Construction Project
2. ^ ^{a b c} Heavy-haul heavyweight
3. ^ Daqin Railway starts running heavy-loading train [1]
4. ^ Analysis on the High Coal Inventory in Qinhuangdao Port
5. ^ ^{a b} Railway company wins approval for public offering
6. ^ DAQIN RAILWAY CARRIED OVER 250MN-TON COAL
7. ^ Railway Rushed to Transport Power Generation Coal New Type Heavy-loaded Equipments Strut Their Stuff
8. ^ ^{a b} Daqing Railway sees to handle 380 Mt coal in 2010

External links

• Daqin Railway Company Limited