Harbin–Manzhouli railway

Binzhou Railway
Sino-Russian border crossing at Manzhouli.
Overview
Native name	滨北铁路 (Bīnběi Tiělù)
Type	Heavy rail, Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Heilongjiang, Inner Mongolia
Termini	Harbin Manzhouli
Operation
Opened	14 January 1902
Owner	Chinese Eastern Railway (1902–1932) North Manchuria Railway (1932–1935) Manchukuo National Railway (1935–1945) China Changchun Railway (1945–1955) China Railway (since 1955)
Technical
Line length	935 km (581 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Old gauge	1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in) Russian gauge
Route map  Binsui Railway  Jingha Railway, Labin Railway 0 Harbin  Binbei Railway xx Songnan old bridge abandoned 4/2014 ←Songhua River← 5 Songbei 10 Miaotaizi  Jiangbei Connecting Line xx Wandong xx Harbin North xx Dagengjia  Wangwan Railway (zh) 20 Wanle 31 Duiqingshan 42 Limudian 52 Jiangjia 63 Zhaodong 74 Shangjia 84 Wulimu 96 Song 116 Yangcao 127 Anda 137 Wolitun 148 Daqing East 159 Daqing 170 Daqing West  Tongrang Railway 180 Lamadian 190 Qijia 201 Gaojia (Closed) 212 Taikang 221 Qianhoudai 238 Yantongtun 252 Houwujia 261 Hongqiying  Pingqi Railway (zh) San'ang Connecting Line 270 Ang'angxi →Nen River→ 277 Wufu 284 Fularji 293 Hurhula 303 Heigang 314 Baishanxiang 323 Longjiang 333 Laodao (Closed) 344 Luhe 355 Nianzishan 365 Jixinhe 376 Fengrong (Closed) 384 Genghis Khan 395 Gulijin 406 Gaotaizi Azha Railway (zh) 416 Zhalantun 425 Woniuhe 435 Sandaoqiao pax only 446 Halasu 456 Nanmu 467 Fulin pax only 478 Balin 488 Lamashan 498 Zigou pax only 510 Yalu 520 Qishan pax only 527 Goukou 531 Jixiangfeng (Closed)  Bolin Railway (zh) 539 Boketu 546 Shali pax only 547 Upper Shali 556 Xinnangou pax only spiral Xing'anling Tunnel (3100 m) 564 Xing'anling 574 Yiliekede 582 Xilingkou pax only 592 Halagou pax only 604 Wunur 609 Sangenhe (Closed) 614 Wuchuan (Closed) 623 Beitouhe pax only 634 Mianduhe 645 Xiaobei 656 Zhuoshan  Yalin Railway (zh) 667 Yakeshi 674 Haiman 685 Dayan 694 Zhaluomude 699 Shunhe (Closed) 721 Hake 730 Xiha (Closed) 736 Hongyuan (Closed) 742 Hailar East  Yimin Railway (zh) 749 Hailar 760 Anyi (Closed) 771 Daliang pax only 780 Wugunor 789 Wulanqiu pax only 801 Donggong pax only 811 Wangong 822 Doulun flag stop 833 Lingqiu flag stop 844 Haerhongde 855 Huangde flag stop 866 Haomen flag stop 874 Cuogang 885 Aergong (Closed) 896 Hubei flag stop 906 Jalainur 912 Jalainur West 919 Donghao flag stop 927 Lubin pax only 935 Manzhouli China–Russia border 939 Zabaikalsk  to Trans-Siberian Railway

Harbin–Manzhouli railway, named the Binzhou Railway (simplified Chinese: 滨洲铁路; traditional Chinese: 濱洲鐵路; pinyin: bīnzhōu tiělù), is a double-track electrified trunk railway in Northeast China between Harbin and Manzhouli on the Russian border, where it connects to the Trans-Siberian Railway via Zabaikalsk, Russia.

The Binzhou railway begins in the west at Manzhouli and runs eastward across the Hulunbuir grasslands, through the forests of the Greater Khingan range, the oilfields of Daqing, and the rich farmland of the Songhua River valley to Harbin.^[1][2] Major cities and towns along route include Manzhouli, Jalainur, Hailar, Dayan, Yakeshi, and Zhalantun in Inner Mongolia, as well as Qiqihar, Daqing, Anda, Zhaodong, and Harbin in Heilongjiang.^[3]

This line has the only station in all of China whose name is a single character: Song station, which makes it a popular location amongst Chinese railfans.^[4]

History

Twenty-two years after the First Sino-Japanese War of 1896, the Qing government's special envoy Li Hongzhang went to Russia to congratulate Tsar Nicholas II on his coronation, and signed the Sino–Russian Secret Treaty; amongst other things, this treaty gave Russia the right to build a railway through northeast China - the Chinese Eastern Railway (CER). Harbin was selected to be the hub of the new railway system, with three Russian-gauge lines 1,520 mm (5 ft 0 in) envisioned heading east, west, and south from Harbin. Work on the western branch from Harbin to the Russian border at Manzhouli, then named the Haman Railway, commenced at both ends in June 1898, and was completed in 1902.^[1] The eastern branch of the CER ran from Harbin to Suifenhe. The entire CER served as an alternative route to the Trans-Siberian Railway.^[5]

The CER was a joint project of China and Russia, and after the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese took over the southern portion of the CER, forming the South Manchuria Railway, with the northern portions remaining under Sino-Russian control. Following the October Revolution, the railway was controlled by White Russians for a time during the Russian Civil War, but from 1917 the government of the Republic of China began taking more control of the railway to itself, until in 1922 the CER was made officially a Sino-Soviet joint enterprise. However, in 1929 the Chinese seized complete control of the CER, storming the Soviet consulate in Harbin and arresting the officials of the CER. This led to the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1929, in which the Soviets quickly defeated the Chinese army and forced the Chinese to once again accept joint control of the railway. After the Mukden Incident, the Soviets retained control over the railway despite the Japanese occupation of northeastern China; after the establishment of Manchukuo in 1932, the CER became a joint Soviet-Manchukuo enterprise called the "North Manchuria Railway". In March 1935, the government of Manchukuo bought the Soviet share of the NMR for 140 million yen, and the entire network was taken over by the Manchukuo National Railway.^[1]

After the Manchukuo National took over the NMR network, it changed the name of the Harbin–Manzhouli railway from Haman Railway to Binzhou Line, and on 1 August 1936, conversion of the line from Russian broad gauge to standard gauge was completed, increasing the operating speed to 60 km/h (37 mph).

After the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and the subsequent collapse of Manchukuo, the Soviets once again took control of the region's railways, and converted the Binzhou Line back to Russian gauge; in 1946, the Northeast Democratic Coalition seized control of the line, and once again regauged it. After the creation of the People's Republic of China, the railways in the territory of the former Manchukuo were taken over by a new Sino-Soviet joint enterprise, called the China Changchun Railway. Full control of the China Changchun Railway was to be turned over to the PRC on 31 December 1952, but due to the Korean War this was delayed until 1955.^[6] The Harbin–Manzhouli line became part of China Railway at that time, and once again renamed, becoming the Binzhou Railway.

The Harbin-Manzhouli line has undergone substantial upgrades over the years.^[1] Double-tracking began in 1983, with the Harbin–Anda section being the first section to be completed, in 1985; the entire line was completed in 2007, when the Manzhouli–Hailar section was completed,^[7] increasing the line's capacity sixfold.^[7] In 1990, semi-automatic train control was introduced, with DFH3-class diesel locomotives on passenger trains, and DF4B-class diesels and Renmin-class steam locomotives on freight trains. Operating speed on the line was raised to 100 km/h (62 mph).

The Binzhou Railway Electrification Project was officially started on 25 October 2014. The entire 933 km (580 mi) of the line was wired, and 17 new traction substations were built. The first section, from Harbin to Qiqihar, was completed on 3 November 2016; the first electric-hauled train on the line was K7108, pulled by a HXD3D-class locomotive.^[8] The remaining section from Qiqihar to Manzhouli was energised on 11 December 2017.^[9]

The Eastern end of the route was quadruple tracked in 2015 with the opening of the Harbin–Qiqihar intercity railway, dedicated to passenger service, increasing the passenger-carrying capacity of this section.^[10]

The Binzhou Railway Bridge across the Songhua River in Harbin

The original Binzhou Railway Bridge was built in 1901, and was replaced by a new bridge in 2014. The old bridge is now a historical landmark protected by the city of Harbin.^[11]

Route

References