Recently, China Railway Group organized experts to conduct on-site inspections along the third and fourth lines from Urumqi to Kuitun, and held a feasibility study review in Urumqi city. Multiple departments, related enterprises, prefecture level cities, and design units from the autonomous region and corps participated in it.

The third and fourth lines from Urumqi to Kuitun are of great significance. It mainly undertakes the urban agglomeration on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains and intercity (including tourism) passenger flow within Xinjiang, while also taking into account inter regional medium and long-distance passenger flow. As a high-speed railway, the project is of great significance to the deep implementation of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the western development strategy, the promotion of the construction of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the expansion of the in-depth coverage of the high-speed railway channel of the land bridge, the strengthening of the function of the main axis channel of Lanzhou Xinjiang, the release of the transport capacity of the Lanzhou Xinjiang railway, and the realization of high-quality development of the urban agglomeration on the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains. At the same time, the project has been included in the national implementation plan for Xinjiang coal outward transportation, which can realize the passenger and freight separation of this section of the Lanzhou Xinjiang High speed Railway, improve the quantity and quality of China Europe regular trains, and meet the regional passenger transport exchanges and services to support the "the Belt and Road" strategy.

From the perspective of the route, the newly-built Urumqi Kuitun third and fourth line railway is located within Xinjiang, with an overall east-west direction. Starting from Urumqi in the east, heading west along the Lanxin Corridor through multiple cities and counties, and finally connecting with the Lanxin Railway in Kuitun City. The new main line has a total length of 219.75km and is also equipped with related projects in Urumqi hub and Kuitun area. The planned construction period is 3.5 years, and the final feasibility study report approval and design documents shall prevail.

In terms of high-speed rail network connection, this project connects to Urumqi Station, the terminal station of Lanxin High speed Railway. The Lanzhou Xinjiang high-speed railway was opened on December 26, 2014, connecting Lanzhou and Urumqi. It has a total length of 1786 kilometers and a designed speed of 250 kilometers per hour, making it the world's longest high-speed railway built and opened to traffic in one go. The Urumqi Kuitun Line 3 and Line 4 project can be seen as the extension of the Lanzhou Xinjiang high-speed railway to the direction of Alashankou, and is also an important part of the Urumqi Khorgos (Yining) high-speed railway planned in Xinjiang in the medium and long term. The design speed is expected to be the same as the Lanzhou Xinjiang high-speed railway. At that time, the westernmost end of China's high-speed railway network will extend from Urumqi Station to Kuitun Station.

At present, the total distance from Urumqi to Kuitun is 232 kilometers, and the existing high-speed trains on the Lanxin Railway take about 2 hours at the fastest. After the opening of the third and fourth line projects, the total distance will be shortened to about 1 hour. Next, the Development and Reform Commission of the autonomous region will strengthen coordination and cooperation, accelerate the preliminary work of the project, and strive to meet the conditions for feasibility study report approval as soon as possible, so that this new high-speed railway artery can be opened as soon as possible.Editor/Cheng Liting