A railway line in Xinjiang autonomous region that opened in early December is expected to play an important role in expanding cargo transport between China, central Asia and Europe.

The 382km line, known as the Second Urumqi-Jinghe Railway, links the region’s capital Urumqi and Jinghe county. It has a designed transportation capacity of 67.1m tonnes, which is expected to rise to 91.7m tonnes in future. It has a designed speed of 120 kph and cost Rmb2.77bn to build, according to Xinjiang Railway Bureau.

Jinghe is linked by two other railways to Horgos and Alataw Pass, both located on the border with Kazakhstan.