Baoji–Chengdu railway

Baocheng railway near Yangpingguan

Legend

to Longhai railway

0 km

Baoji

to Longhai railway

Wei River

Baoji South

Spiral

45 km

67 km

91 km

103 km

*

entering Gansu Province

120 km

125 km

135 km

151 km

re-entering Shaanxi Province

174 km

182 km

190 km

199 km

208 km

215 km

237 km

247 km

259 km

to Yangpingguan–Ankang railway

271 km

283 km

entering Sichuan Province

302 km

323 km

341 km

350 km

Guangyuan

to

Guangyuan South

Zoumaling

Zhaohua

Shaxiba

415 km

Banzhuyuan

Majiaoba

Erlang Temple

Houba

Xiaoxiba

Shuanghekou

512 km

Sanhechang

Shimaba

554 km

Zaojiaopu

Tanjiaba

584 km

Huangxu

608 km

Deyang

Shifang

631 km

to

to Dazhou–Chengdu railway

Xindu District

to

669 km

Chengdu

to Chengdu–Kunming railway

The Baoji–Chengdu railway or Baocheng railway (simplified Chinese: 宝成铁路; traditional Chinese: 寶成鐵路; pinyin: bǎochéng tiělù), is a mixed single- and double-track, electrified, railroad in China between Baoji in Shaanxi province and Chengdu in Sichuan province. The Baocheng Line is the main railway connection between the northern/northwestern and southwestern China. The line has a total length of 668.2 km and passes through mostly mountainous terrain in southern Shaanxi, eastern Gansu and northern Sichuan.^[1] It opened in 1961 as the first rail outlet from Sichuan, and in 1975 became the first railway in China to be electrified.^[1] Other cities along route include Mianyang, Guangyuan, Guanghan and Lueyang.

Line description[]

Baocheng railway near the Jialing River

The Baocheng Line runs from the plains of the Sichuan Basin to the Wei River Valley. It traverses the Qin Mountains, the east–west range that divides northern from southern China. The line has 304 tunnels and 1,001 bridges, which collectively account for 17% of the total track length.^[1]

In Baoji, the line meets the Longhai railway, on which trains can travel east to Xian and the Central Plains or west to Lanzhou and the northwest. At Yangpingguan, the line intersects with the Yangpingguan–Ankang railway which branches eastward along the Han River Valley. In Chengdu, the line connects with the Chengyu Line to Chongqing, Chengqian Line to Guizhou, and Chengkun Line to Kunming.

History[]

The opening of the first electrified railway in China on August 15, 1961 (Baocheng railway, Baoji–Fengzhou section)

The Baocheng line was originally proposed in Sun Yat-sen's 1913 China National railway plan as part of the Datong–Chengdu railway. Construction began in Chengdu on July 1, 1952 and from Baoji in January 1954.^[1] The line opened on January 1, 1958.^[2] The Baoji–Fengzhou section electrified in 1961, becoming the first railway to be electrified in the country.^[2] The entire line was electrified in 1971.^[2] Construction of a second track between Chengdu and Yangpingguan began in 1993 and was completed in 1999. From Yangpingguan to Baoji, the line remains single-track. The railway was badly damaged by the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.^[2]

The Baoji–Chengdu railway, together with the Xi'an–Baoji section of the Longhai railway, formed the main railway route between Xi'an and Chengdu (and, in general, between North China and Sichuan). However, the new Xi'an–Chengdu high-speed railway, between these two cities has assumed much of the passenger traffic on this route.