The roar of the first drilling rig officially began on the Linha Railway line in the Gobi Desert sandstorm. On August 31, 2026, the drilling operation of the first pier pile foundation of the Linha Railway and Baolan Railway Connection Line Extra Large Bridge was launched, and the expansion and renovation project of the Linhe Ejina section began comprehensively. This old single track railway spanning the Gobi Desert in western Inner Mongolia is about to usher in a key turning point of heavy load upgrade.

Gobi single line startup upgrade

The Linha Railway starts from Linhe District, Bayannur, Inner Mongolia in the east and extends to Hami City, Xinjiang in the west, with a total length of 1391 kilometers. The Linhe Ejina section, which was previously a single track non electrified railway, will be upgraded to a double track electrified heavy-duty railway after the renovation is completed.

158 new bridges will be built along the entire line, 2 new stations will be added, and 2 concrete anti sand open cut tunnels with a total length of 8069 meters will be constructed in the sections with the most severe sand damage. At the same time, 22 stations along the line will be renovated, and the length of the station yard to departure line will be extended. At the same time, the comprehensive upgrade of power supporting signal communication and passenger and freight transportation service facilities will be completed.

In response to the complex terrain and sandstorm prone construction environment in the Gobi region, China Railway Hohhot Bureau has optimized construction organization and transportation support, arranged staggered construction train access, avoided dense periods of freight trains, and ensured smooth construction progress while minimizing the interference of renovation projects on the normal transportation of existing lines.

The transportation capacity of Xinjiang coal has significantly increased

After the completion of the renovation project, all 18 stations in the Linhe Ejina section will have the conditions to receive and dispatch 10000 ton freight trains, and the annual freight transportation capacity of the section will jump from the current 30 million tons to about 200 million tons.

This railway channel spanning the western Gobi Desert will completely fill the gap in transportation capacity of the previous single line transportation, providing a more stable and reliable heavy-duty transportation artery for the transportation of coal from the west to the east and from Xinjiang to the outside of the country. It will also further activate the potential for mineral resource export in western Mongolia and Xinjiang, and open up new key nodes for the western energy channel network.Editor/Cheng Liting