On May 7, 2026, the capacity expansion and reconstruction project of Ulanhot Aershan section of the Bai Arab Railway officially started the whole line blockade construction, and this old railway, which was built in the 1930s, finally ushered in a new life. As the core trunk line connecting Baicheng in Jilin and Alshan in Inner Mongolia, this section has a total length of 254 kilometers. Previously, it was a single track non electrified railway with a train speed of only 80 kilometers per hour and an annual freight volume of less than 10 million tons. The transportation capacity bottleneck is prominent.

The renovation project is not only about speeding up, but also about upgrading the entire system: the existing lines will be electrified, and the communication and signal systems will be fully updated according to the standards of high-speed trains. At the same time, 3 new stations will be built, 5 bridges will be renovated, and 1 tunnel will be constructed. Among them, the Xinnan Xing'an Tunnel constructed by China Railway 11th Bureau is a controlled project along the entire line, with a total length of 3710 meters. As the only newly built tunnel, it needs to pass through a 1300 meter frozen soil area and an 800 meter section of sudden mud and water influx. The maximum water inflow can reach 500 cubic meters per day, and the geological complexity can be called a railway geological museum.

Weaving a new mesh on the operating line

The construction of existing lines is like weaving a new network on a "running railway", and the blockade time needs to be precise to minutes. Cross regional coordination involves Shenyang and Harbin bureaus. The Changchun Engineering Construction Command has optimized the construction organization, refined the process connection to the "minute level", developed a "temperature monitoring+grouting reinforcement" dual control plan for permafrost melting, and completed the full line disease investigation three months in advance to build a solid safety barrier for construction. Keywords: railway, transportation

Activate Mong Dong at a speed of 120 kilometers per hour

The project is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2028. At that time, the designed speed of the Bai'a Railway will be increased to 120 kilometers per hour, and the eastern region of Mongolia will have an electrified high-speed railway for the first time. The travel time from Ulanhot to Alshan will be shortened to 2 hours, and the annual freight capacity will be increased to 30 million tons, effectively promoting tourism in Alshan and the development of Baicheng Energy Base.Editor/Cheng Liting