The Northern Xinjiang Railway or Beijiang Railway (北疆铁路) is a railway in Xinjiang

Xinjiang

Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...

, 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 Urumqi

Ürümqi

Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....

, the regional capital of Xinjiang and Alashankou

Alashankou

Alashankou or Alataw Pass is a border town in Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is a port of entry by both railroad and highway from Kazakhstan as part of the Eurasian Land Bridge. The town is named after the Dzungarian Gate , a pass connecting...

 on the border with Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

. The railway is 460 km in length and runs along the northern slope of the Tian Shan

Tian Shan

The Tian Shan , also spelled Tien Shan, is a large mountain system located in Central Asia. The highest peak in the Tian Shan is Victory Peak , ....

 mountain range, connecting all major cities and towns of the southern Junggar Basin, including Changji, Hutubi, Manas

Manas County

Manas County is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and is under the administration of the Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture. It contains an area of 9,174 km2...

, Shihezi

Shihezi

Shihezi is a sub-prefecture-level city in northern Xinjiang, People's Republic of China.-Demography:Shihezi is the second largest city in Xinjiang, after Urumqi....

, Kuytun, Wusu

Wusu

Wusu can also refer to Taiyuan Wusu Airport.Wusu is a county-level city with more than 100,000 residents in Xinjiang. It is a part of Tacheng Prefecture of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture. Wusu is a city, where oil-production is a major part of the economy...

, Bortala (Bole)

Bole, Xinjiang

Bole or Bortala is a county-level city in Xinjiang. The area is 7517 km² and the total population is 403,700 . Bortala means "brown grasslands/steppe" in Mongolian. Bortala is the seat of Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, which borders to Kazakhstan. Bortala has a railway and highway...

 and Jinghe. The line extends the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway west from Ürümqi to the Turkestan-Siberia Railway

Turkestan-Siberia Railway

The Turkestan–Siberian Railway is a broad gauge railway that connects Central Asia with Siberia. It starts north of Tashkent in Uzbekistan at Arys, where it branches off from the Trans-Caspian Railway. It heads roughly northeast through Shymkent, Taraz, Bishkek to the former Kazakh capital of...

 on the Kazakh border, and forms a section of the Trans-Eurasian Railway

Eurasian Land Bridge

The Eurasian Land Bridge, sometimes called the New Silk Road, is a term used to describe the rail transport route for moving freight and passengers overland from Pacific seaports in Siberia and China to seaports in Europe...

 from Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...

 to Lianyungang

Lianyungang

Lianyungang is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Jiangsu province, People's Republic of China. It borders Yancheng to its southeast, Huai'an and Suqian to its south, Xuzhou to its southwest, and the province of Shandong to its north...

. The line opened in 1992. The a new double-track line between Ürümqi and Jinghe

Second Ürümqi-Jinghe Railway

The Second Ürümqi-Jinghe Railway or Wujing Line No. 2 is a double-track railway in Xinjiang, China between Ürümqi, the regional capital of Xinjiang and Jinghe...

was built in 2009 to supplement the Northern Xinjiang Railway.