China has completed the worlds first desert railway ring, 2,712 km long, surrounding the Taklimakan desert also known as the Sea of Death.
In which, the Hotan - Ruoqiang railway (Hoa Dien - Nhuoc Khuong) lasts 825 km, starting from Hoa Dien city (southwest of Xinjiang Autonomous Region) and ending at Ruo Khuong district (southeast of Xinjiang Autonomous Region). Xinjiang). This railway has a design speed of 120km/h and passes through 22 stations, helping to shorten the travel time between Hoa Dien and Nhuoc Khuong by about 11 hours and 26 minutes.
The Hoa Dien - Nhuoc Khuong railway line is located on the southern edge of the Taklimakan desert, the second largest shifting sand desert in the world, with an area slightly smaller than Germany.
Engineers faced huge challenges at the beginning of the construction of this railway because 65% of the length of this new railway, about 534km, passes through an area of sand and strong winds.
In the areas of flowing sand, engineers have built 5 viaducts with a total length of 49.7km for the train to run on, facilitating safe travel.
In addition, to protect the railway, engineers also used 50 million square meters of grass netting and planted 13 million trees that can withstand the desert environment.
To create the blueprint for this railway line through the sand desert, experts spent 2 tons of drawing paper.
For 7 months, from March to September every year, sandstorms cause flights to be canceled and highways closed. People living in the southern desert are almost isolated from the outside world. The completion of the Hoa Dien - Nhuoc Khuong railway will help people have uninterrupted access to traffic.