Datong–Puzhou railway

The Datong–Puzhou or Tongpu railway (simplified Chinese: 同蒲铁路; traditional Chinese: 同蒲鐵路; pinyin: tóngpǔ tiělù), is a major trunkline railroad in northern China, and the main axial railway of Shanxi Province. The railway is located entirely within Shanxi and diagonally bisects the province from Datong in the northeast to Fenglingdu, near the village of Puzhou, in the southwest corner. The line is named after Datong and Puzhou, and has a total length of 865 km (537 mi). The line is often referred to by its northern and southern halves with Taiyuan, the provincial capital as the midpoint. Southern Tongpu railway from Taiyuan to Fenglingdu is 513 km (319 mi) in length and was built from 1933 to 1935. The Northern Tongpu railway, from Datong to Taiyuan is 351 km (218 mi) in length and was built from 1933 to 1940. Major cities and towns along route include Datong, Huairen, Shuozhou, Ningwu, Yuanping, Xinzhou, Taiyuan, Yuci, Taigu, Qi County, Pingyao, Huozhou, Hongdong, Linfen, Houma and Fenglingdu.

Datong–Puzhou railway
Overview
Owner	China Railway
Termini	Datong Fenglingdu near Xi'an
History
Opened	1940
Technical
Line length	864 km (537 mi)
Character	main line
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV, 50 Hz AC
Tongpu-Line km elev Beijing–Baotou railway from Beijing North 0 Datong Beijing–Baotou railway to Baotou 10 Pingwang 19 Hanjialing 30 Libazhuang 42 Huairen 52 Songjiazhuang 65 Jinshatan 76 Beizhouzhuang 85 Daiyue 95 Dongyulin 105 Yuanshulin 116 Shentou 121 Daxin 129 Shuozhou 138 Qianzhai 154 Yangfangkou 166 Ningwu 171 Fenghuangcun 186 Zhangzhen 194 Xuangang 202 Luzhuang 212 Shangyangwu 218 Daniudian 225 Meijiazhuang Beijing–Yuanping railway from Beijing 231 Yuanping 236 Tanglingang 245 Xinkou 251 Buluo 58 Boming Xinzhou–Hebian railway to Hebian 267 Xinzhou 273 Tamura 282 Douluo 288 Sizhuang 295 Pingshe 301 Nanhe 308 Beibai 311 Gaocun 318 Baijing 326 Yangqu 333 Nantadi 341 Huanghouyuan Shanglancun railway from Shanglancun 346 Taiyuan North Datong–Xi'an HSR from Datong South Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan HSR from Shijiazhuang 352 Taiyuan East 355 Taiyuan Taiyuan–Zhongwei–Yinchuan railway to Yinchuan, Zhongwei Datong–Xi'an HSR to Xi'an North 364 Beiying 374 Mingli 382 Yuci Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway to Shijiazhuang 392 Xiuwen Taiyuan–Jiaozuo railway to Jiaozuo 418 Taigu 428 Dongguan 441 Qixian 451 Hongshan 463 Pingyao 474 Zhanglan 484 Yian 494 Jiexiu Jiexiu–Yangquanqu railway to Yangquanqu 501 Yitang 511 Liangdu 521 Lingshi 528 Lengquan 541 Fujiatan 547 Nanguan 555 Shenlin 564 Huozhou 569 Shengfu 576 Xinzhi 584 Shitancun 591 Zhaocheng 598 Xinbao 606 Hongtong 616 Ganting 623 Linfen North 629 Linfen 641 Zhangli 655 Xiangfen 666 Chaizhuang 676 Gaoxian 685 Houma North 689 Houma Houma–Xi'an railway to Xi'an 696 Shidian 703 Liyuan 712 Dongzhen 724 Wenxi 740 Shuitou 745 Xingnan 752 Banpocun 760 Anyi 767 Yuncheng 775 Dianpo 784 Haixian 796 Dongcun 807 Yuxiang 812 Sunchang 823 Yongji 835 Puzhou 843 Hanyang 854 Shouyang 865 Fenglingdu Taiyuan Group Xi'an Group →Fenglingdu Yellow River Railway Bridge→ 872 Gangkou 878 Gongzhuang Longhai railway from Lianyungang 888 Mengyuan Longhai railway to Lanzhou

The section between Yuanping and Huairen is quadruple track, but the third/forth track is straight north–south rather than serving Shuozhou and Ningwu. This track is currently part of Datong–Xi'an passenger railway.

History

The Tongpu railway was built during Yan Xishan's administration of Shanxi Province. Yan initially appealed to the central government of the Republic of China for assistance to build a railway in Shanxi, and after being denied funding in 1928, embarked on his own railway building project. He hired a German surveyor team to plan the line. In 1930, when Yan lost power during the Central Plains War, the railway project temporarily halted. In 1932, Yan regained control of Shanxi and formed the Jinsui (Shanxi–Suiyuan) Army Construction Corp to build the line as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow gauge railway, which the German team recommended to save cost. Construction began simultaneously on the North and South Tongpu Lines in May 1933. On August 1, 1935, the Taiyuan to Yuanping section entered into operation. By August 1937, the North Tongpu Line had reached within 8 km (5.0 mi) of Datong but the fall of the city to the invading Japanese during the Second Sino-Japanese War halted construction. In 1939, the Japanese used forced labor to work on the remainder of the line. Guerilla activity limited travel speed on the line to 25–35 km/h (16–22 mph). After the end of World War II, Yan regained control of the Shanxi and the Tongpu railway. During the ensuing Chinese Civil War, Communist forces and partisans sabotaged the North Tongpu Line, rendering it unusable until after the conflict. Reconstruction began in November 1949 and the entire line was converted into standard gauge and reopened to traffic in August 1951. In 1957, work began on a bypass between Ningwu and Xuangang through the Duanjialing Tunnel, which at 3,345 m (10,974 ft) was the second longest railway tunnel in China at the time. The tunnel was completed in 1959. In the early 1980s, the North Tongpu Line underwent electrification to increase coal transport capacity.

Rail connections

• Datong: Beijing–Baotou railway, Datong–Qinhuangdao railway
• Ningwu: Ningwu–Kelan railway, Ningwu–Jingle railway
• Yuanping: Beijing–Yuanping railway
• Taiyuan: Shijiazhuang–Taiyuan railway, Taiyuan–Jiaozuo railway, Shitai Passenger railway
• Hongdong: Shanxi–Henan–Shandong railway
• Houma: Houma–Xian railway, Houma–Yueshan railway

See also

• List of railways in China