Nanjing-Qidong Railway also known as the Ningqi Railway, is a railway in Jiangsu Province of China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 between the cities of Nanjing

Nanjing

' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

 and Nantong

Nantong

Nantong is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and...

. Its name is derived from Ning the shorthand name for Nanjing and Qidong, a district of Nantong. It is 268.3 km in length and runs along the northern bank of the lower Yangtze River

Yangtze River

The Yangtze, Yangzi or Cháng Jiāng is the longest river in Asia, and the third-longest in the world. It flows for from the glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai eastward across southwest, central and eastern China before emptying into the East China Sea at Shanghai. It is also one of the...

. The planned easternmost section of the railway from Nantong to Qidong has not yet been built. The single-track railway is currently undergoing double-track expansion.

History

Planning for a railway along the north bank of the Yangtze River began as early as 1958. In 1977, the government of Jiangsu province designated the railway from Nanjing to Nantong as a project for completion within the next 10 years. Due to funding shortage and disagreement over route, the project was not built for 20 years. The project was revived in the late 1990s with the onset of construction on the Xinyi-Changxing (Xinchang) Railway, which was the first railway to be built in Jiangsu province north of the Yangtze River. In 2001, the Ministry of Railways approved plans for the Ningqi Railway, and construction was built in two phases. The Nanjing to Haian

Hai'an County

Hai'an County is a county-level city administered by Nantong in Jiangsu Province.The total area of the county is 1169 square kilometers and as of 2001 the population was 959,800. The postal code is 226600 and the telephone code is 0513.Hai'an county includes 14 towns...

 section was built from March 1, 2002 to December 2003. The Haian to Yangzhou

Yangzhou

Yangzhou is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province, People's Republic of China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, it borders the provincial capital of Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, Yancheng to the northeast, Taizhou to the east, and Zhenjiang across...

 and Nantong

Nantong

Nantong is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. Located on the northern bank of the Yangtze River, near the river mouth, Nantong is a vital river port bordering Yancheng to the north, Taizhou to the west, Suzhou and Shanghai to the south across the river, and...

sections were completed by July 2005.