FASTER TRACK TO PROSPERITY
The opening of this line, which is a key national railway project, has brought an end to the unavailability of train service in five counties and certain towns in southern Xinjiang and will shorten the travel time for locals, according to China Railway Urumqi Group Co., Ltd.
Staff gear up for the departure of the first train of the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway at Hotan Railway Station in Hotan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
It will facilitate the transportation and logistics of Xinjiang specialties including cotton, walnuts, red dates, and minerals. It is also of great significance to driving resource development, safeguarding ethnic unity, consolidating frontier defense, and boosting rural vitalization along the route.
Selimhan Tursun was among the passengers on the first train. Hailing from a remote village in Qiemo County, she was ecstatic about her trip, as the journey was comfortable, economical, and convenient.
In the past, journeys from her home village were either bumpy bus trips that would take over 10 hours or expensive ones by plane, she recalled. "Many fellow villagers haven't even seen a train before, and I'll definitely take them for a train trip together."
Railway construction workers also benefited from the project. Dursun Mememin used to make a living by farming and raising sheep in Qiemo County.
While working at the railway construction site in Minfeng, a county along the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway, his income nearly doubled to 7,000 yuan a month (about 1,043 U.S. dollars), he recalled.
"It's also delighting to build a railway for my hometown," Dursun Mememin said. "Trips to Urumqi have been reduced by more than eight hours, which will offer more opportunities to locals like me."
Passengers board the first train of the Hotan-Ruoqiang Railway at Hotan Railway Station in Hotan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, June 16, 2022. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)
On top of expanding the railway network, the Hotan-Ruoqiang railway is also designed to boost the development of industries such as mining and tourism in the region, according to transportation authorities.
