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The Xi'an–Ankang Railway or Xikang Railway (simplified Chinese: 西康铁路; traditional Chinese: 西康鐵路; pinyin: xīkāng tiělù), is a single-track, electrified railroad in Shaanxi Province of China between Xi'an, the provincial capital, and Ankang. The line is 247.7 km (154 mi) long and was built from 1995 to 2001. As of June 2009, a second track is being planned for the line. Major cities and towns along route include Xi'an, Zhashui, Zhen'an County, Xunyang County and Ankang.
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Line Description
The Xikang Line traverses the Qin Mountains, one of the geographic barriers that separate North and South China. Xi'an, the provincial capital is located in the Wei River Valley and Ankang in southern Shaanxi is located in the Han River (Yangtze River tributary) Valley. The Xikang Line connects two of China's major east-west rail corridors, the Longhai Railway and the Xiangyang-Chongqing Railway and shortened travel distance between the two cities by 542 km (337 mi) and travel time by 14 hours. Due to the rugged terrain of southern Shaanxi, the line has 41.2 km (26 mi) of bridges and 139.6 km (87 mi) of tunnels including the Qinling Tunnel, which is 18.5 km (11 mi) long and 1.6 km (1 mi) underneath the mountain at its deepest point. The line was funded by low-interest development assistance loans from Japan.