Beijing–Zhangjiakou Railway
The Beijing–Zhangjiakou Railway or Jingzhang Railway (Chinese: 京张铁路; pinyin: Jīngzhāng Tiělù), also known as the Imperial Peking–Kalgan Railway, is China’s first railway that has been designed and built solely by Chinese, situated in the nation’s capital Beijing and Zhangjiakou City in Hebei Province. It was built in 1905–1909 under the proposal of Viceroy of Zhili Yuan Shikai and Assistant Director-General of Railways Hu Yufen (胡燏棻), with Zhan Tianyou as engineer-in-chief. When building the railway, Zhan reduced the length of Badaling Tunnel by using a switchback—or “人”-shaped rail track called in China as the shape of it resembles the Chinese character “人” (pinyin: rén; literally: people); he also used vertical shafts to facilitate the excavation of the tunnel.
| Beijing–Zhangjiakou Railway | |
|---|---|
Two trains passing the Qinglongqiao Station on the Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway | |
| Overview | |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | |
| Termini |
|
| Stations | Beijing North railway station Badaling railway station Shalingzi West railway station |
| Service | |
| Type |
|
| System | National Rail |
| Operator(s) | |
| History | |
| Opened | 1909: 12 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 201.2 kilometres (125.0 mi) |
| Number of tracks | Double track |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The railway formally opened in 1909, with a total length of 201.2 km (125.0 mi). Starting from Liucun Village in Fengtai, it connected Beijing to Zhangjiakou via the Guan’gou Valley with 14 stations, 4 tunnels and 125 bridges. In 1912, four stations with passing loops were built in the Guan’gou section. The railway was merged into Beijing-Suiyuan Railway in 1916, and later into Beijing-Baotou Railway after the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC).
The rail tracks located within the city area of Beijing were gradually dismantled to meet the need of urban traffic. In 1995, the former Xizhimen Station was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site of Beijing, and in 2013, the section between Nankou and Badaling was listed as Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.