Construction could start this year on three railways in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. This according to sources with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The region is bounded to the north by Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Russia; to the east by Mongolia and Gansu; to the south by Qinghai and Tibet; and to the west by Jammu and Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan.

The NDRC plans to invest RMB4.25 billion ($591 million) in the three railways: the Lanxin, Nanjiang and Kuitun railways.

According to Chinanews.com, work on the Jingyihuo Railway, the first electric railway in Xinjiang, has accelerated and should be complete by the end of this year,

Experts say developing Xinjiang’s rail capacity will make it easier to exploit its massive stores of energy resources. With estimated reserves of 20.8 billion tons of oil and 10.8 trillion cu m of gas, Xinjiang is seen as a strategic complement to Heilongjiang, China’s top natural gas and oil producer.

Currently the only railway linking Xinjiang with central Asia is a 460-km line between Urumqi and Alataw Pass, where it connects to Kazakhstan railways.
Source: China.com