THE railway connecting southwest China's Chongqing to the north western City of Lanzhou (pop 3.6 million) will be completed and opened to traffic in 2014 to become an important part of the Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe rail route, Xinhua reports.
The Chongqing-Xinjiang Europe rail line currently has to use the Chongqing-Xiangyang railway. After completion of the Chongqing-Lanzhou railway, transit time from Chongqing to Lanzhou will be reduced by two thirds, that is 10 hours, cutting costs by a third.
Running through Gansu, Shaanxi, Sichuan and Chongqing, the Chongqing-Lanzhou railway is jointly invested by China Ministry of Railway and government of Gansu, Sichuan and Chongqing. The project started construction in September 2008, entailing an investment of CNY10.5 billion (US$1.6 billion).
Chongqing-Xinjiang-Europe rail line was launched in last year. It only takes two to three days for Europe-bound cargo from Shanghai, Suzhou to be carried to Chongqing, then another 15 days from Chongqing to Europe compared to 36 days by sea through the Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean and the Suez Canal.