Kunming–Haiphong railway

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Kunming–Haiphong railway
The Kunming–Haiphong railway in Hekou town
Overview
Other name(s)
  • Yunan–Vietnam railway
  • Sino–Vietnamese railway
  • Indo-China–Yunnan railway
StatusMostly freight services in China section
Owner
Locale
Termini
Connecting lines
Stations66
Service
Type
Operator(s)
History
Commenced1904–1910
Opened1 April 1910 (1910-04-01)
Last extension16 June 1902 (1902-06-16)
Built byFrench Colonial Administration
Technical
Line length855 km (531 mi)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge
Route map

elev.
in m
Chengdu–Kunming Railway
to Panzhihua
昆明北
Kūnmíng Běi
Kunming North
1,892
Shanghai–Kunming Railway
to Guiyang
Panlong
Guandu
黑土凹
Hēitǔ’āo
Heitu’ao
牛街庄
Niújiēzhuāng
Niujiezhuang
小喜村
Xiǎoxǐ Cūn
Xiaoxi
广卫村
Guǎngwèi Cūn
Guangwei
跑马山
Pǎomǎshān
Paomashan
Guandu
Chenggong County
呈贡
Chénggòng
Chenggong
王家营
Wángjiāyíng
Wangjiaying
1,907
三家村
Sānjiācūn
Sanjiacun
七甸
Qīdián
Qidian
水塘
Shuǐtáng
Shuitang
2,026
Chenggong County
Yiliang
阳宗海
Yángzōnghǎi
Yangzonghai
凤鸣村
Fèngmíng Cūn
Fengming
可保村
Kěbǎo Cūn
Kebao
multiple tunnels[a]
水晶波
Shuǐjīngbō
Shuijingbo
multiple tunnels
江头村
Jiāngtóu Cūn
Jiangtou
1,540
multiple tunnels
宜良
Yíliáng
Yiliang
羊街子
Yángjiēzi
Yangjiezi
狗街子
Gǒujiēzi
Goujiezi
滴水
Dīshuǐ
Dishui
徐家渡
Xújiādù
Xujiadu
Yiliang County
Huaning
禄丰村
Lùfēng Cūn
Lufeng
糯租
Nuòzū
Nuozu
multiple tunnels[b]
大沙田
Dàshātián
Dashatian
Huaning
Mile
西洱
Xī’ěr
Xi’er
1,160
小河口
Xiǎo Hékǒu
Xiao Hekou
Mile
Huaning
盘溪
Pánxī
Panxi
Huaning
Mile
热水塘
Rèshuǐtáng
Reshuitang
西扯邑
Xīchěyì
Xicheyi
multiple tunnels[c]
拉里黑
Lālǐhēi
Lalihei
巡检司
Xúnjiǎnsī
Xunjiansi
灯笼山
Dēnglóngshān
Denglongshan
Mile
Kaiyuan
小龙潭
Xiǎolóngtán
Xiaolongtan
multiple tunnels[d]
打兔寨
Dǎtùzhài
Datuzhai
十里村
Shílǐcūn
Shilicun
开远
Kāiyuǎn
Kaiyuan
multiple tunnels[e]
玉林山
Yùlínshān
Yulinshan
大塔
Dàtǎ
Data
1,059
驻马哨
Zhùmǎshào
Zhumashao
大庄
Dàzhuāng
Dazhuang
Kaiyuan
Mengzi
草坝
Cǎobà
Caoba
Caoba–Guanjiashan Railway
to Yuguopu
碧色寨
Bìsèzhài
Bisezhai
1,356
Gebishi Railway (600 mm gauge)
to Shiping (until 1962)
黑龙潭
Hēilóngtán
Heilongtan
1,547
Col de Milati-Tunnel
1,700
芷村
Zhǐcūn
Zhicun
1,630
落水洞
Luòshuǐdòng
Luoshuidong
1,552
戈姑
Gēgū
Gegu
1,380
16 tunnels
Wujiazhai Bridge
over the Sicha River
Mengzi
Pingbian
倮姑
Luǒgū
Luogu
1,166
multiple tunnels[f]
亭塘
Tíngtáng
Tingtang
老街子
Lǎojiēzi
Laojiezi
菠渡箐
Bōdùqìng
Boduqing
915
multiple tunnels[g]
冲庄
Chòngzhuāng
Chongzhuang
湾塘
Wāntáng
Wantang
619
白寨大桥
Báizhàidàqiáo
Baizhai Bridge
over a Namti tributary
[1]
白寨
Báizhài
Baizhai
388
multiple tunnels[h]
白鹤桥
Báihèqiáo
Baiheqiao
腊哈地
Làhādì
Lahadi
245
大树塘
Dàshùtáng
Dashutang
Pingbian
Hekou County
老范寨
Lǎofànzhài
Laofanzhai
马街
Mǎjiē
Majie
南溪
Nánxī
Nanxi
蚂蝗堡
Mǎhuángpù
Mahuangpu
山腰
Shānyāo
Shanyao
河口
Hékǒu
Hekou
Lào Cai
88
Làng Giàng
Thái Niên
Lạng
Phố Lu
Cầu Nhô
Thái Văn
Bảo Hà
Lang Thíp
Lang Khay
Lâm Giang
Trái Hút
Mậu Đông
Mậu A
Ngòi Hóp
Cổ Phúc
Yên Bái
Văn Phú
Đoan Thượng
Ấm Thượng
Vũ Ẻn
Chí Chủ
Phú Thọ
Tiên Kiên
Phủ Đức
Việt Trì
295
Bạch Hạc
Hướng Lại
Vĩnh Yên
Hương Canh
Phúc Yên
Thạch Lỗi
Ha Dong
Bắc Hồng
start of dual gauge track
Hanoi–Quán Triều Railway
to Quán Triều
Đông Anh
Cổ Loa
Hanoi–Đồng Đăng Railway
to Đồng Đăng
Yen Vien
Gia Lam
end of dual gauge track
Cầu Bây
Phú Thụy
Lạc Đạo
Tuấn Lương
Cẩm Giàng
Cao Xá
Hải Dương
380
Tiền Trung
Song Lai Vu
120
Lai Khê
Phạm Xá
Phú Thai
Dụ Nghĩa
Vật Cách
Thượng Lý
Song Tam Bac
90
Haiphong
Hải Phòng Harbour

The Yunnan–Haiphong railway (Chinese: 滇越铁路; pinyin: Diānyuè Tiělù; Vietnamese: tuyến đường sắt Hải Phòng – Vân Nam / 綫塘鐵海防-雲南; French: Chemins de Fer de L'Indo-Chine et du Yunnan, "Indo-China–Yunnan Railroad") is an 855 km (531 mi) railway built by France from 1904 to 1910, connecting Haiphong, Vietnam, with Kunming, Yunnan province, China. The section within China from Kunming to Hekou is known as the Kunming–Hekou railway (Chinese: 昆河铁路; pinyin: Kun–He tielu), and is 466 km (290 mi) long. The section within Vietnam is 389 km (242 mi) long, and is known as the Hanoi–Lào Cai railway (Vietnamese: Đường sắt Hà Nội – Lào Cai / 塘鐵河内-老街). The railway was built with 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) gauge due to the mountainous terrain along the route. Currently it is the only main line in China using 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge.

History[edit]

The Faux Namti (Wujiazhai) Bridge over the Sicha River, in the Nanxi Valley region. More than 800 Chinese coolies died here.[3]
Historic rolling stock from the Kunming–Hekou railway and its branches in the Yunnan Railway Museum, at Kunming North railway station

In the 19th century, the French colonial administration worked to develop regular trading networks and an efficient transport infrastructure between Indochina and south-west China. The primary motivation for such an effort was to facilitate export of European goods to China.[4] A railway would also give France access to Yunnan's natural resources, mineral resources and opium, and open up the Chinese market for Indochinese products such as rice, dry fish, wood and coal.[4]

Before the railway was built, the standard travel time from Haiphong (the closest sea port to most of Yunnan) to Kunming was reckoned by the Western authorities to be 28 days: 16 days by steamer and then a small boat up the Red River to Manhao (425 miles (684 km)), and then 12 days overland (194 miles (312 km)).[5]

The right to build the railway was obtained following China's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95). At a cost of 95 million francs (€362 million), the railway was among the most ambitious colonial projects undertaken by France, and was put into use on 1 April 1910.[4][6] The 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge section was originally administered in more or less the same way as the Indochinese networks, and if not for a "missing link" through Cambodia (between Saigon and Phnom Penh), it would have been physically possible for through trains to run from Kunming to Singapore, as 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge was used in Malaya as well.

Under pressure from Japan, France closed the line on 16 July 1940 to cut supplies to China during the Second Sino-Japanese War. During the Japanese occupation Japanese National Railways Class 9600 2-8-0 locomotives were shipped to aid their invasion, and after the completion of the "death railway" it was possible for a time to send through traffic to Burma and hence to the Indian 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge network.[citation needed] This is now not possible, as sections of the railway were destroyed during the conflicts since World War II.[7]

During the Sino-Vietnamese War of 1979, the railway bridge across the Nanxi River at the two countries' border was destroyed, and the trade between China and Vietnam came to a halt for several years.[8]

Gebishi railway[edit]

The 600 mm (1 ft 11+58 in) narrow-gauge Gebishi branch line was built from Bisezhai towards Shiping and was 176 kilometres (109 mi) long. It was constructed in 1915 and the last 72 kilometres (45 mi) part was closed in 1990.

Present state[edit]

A commuter train on a Kunming North – Wangjiaying run in 2016
A freight train on the Hanoi–Lao Cai railway, near Bảo Hà station

Twice-a-week cross-border passenger service operated as late as 2000; the second-class passengers had to transfer from a Chinese train to a Vietnamese train at the border station, while the first-class car passengers could remain on board as their car was transferred to the train across the border. However, landslides caused frequent delays.[9] Eventually, in 2005[10] the passenger service on the Chinese section of the railway (the Kunming–Hekou railway) was terminated,[11][12] and most of the passenger coaches were donated to Myanmar.[10]

In 2008, passenger service on a small part (37 km (23 mi) long) of the Chinese section of the railway was resumed, but on a very limited scale. As of 2012, two daily trains ran from Kunming North railway station on the meter-gauge tracks to Shizui (石咀) Station on the western outskirts of Kunming, and to Wangjiaying (王家营) east of the city.[10] As of 2016, this service still continues, with 2 daily trains to Wangjiaying and one to Shizui. In December 2017, in order to leave room for the construction of the Kunming No.4 Metro line, the commuter train service between Shizui and Wangjiaying was terminated again, and parts of the meter gauge railway in the urban area was demolished. In 2022, the meter-gauge railway within the Kunming urban area was rebuilt, but no train services were operating on the line as of September 2023.[citation needed]

Freight service continues to operate throughout the Kunming–Hekou railway.[11] Some rolling stock continues to be maintained in working condition. According to a 2015 news report, over the seven preceding years, 63 meter gauge flatcars had been refurbished at the Kunming North Station's workshop, for use in transborder container shipping.[13] In 2016, 100 mothballed freight railcars were selected to be refurbished at the Kaiyuan workshop and to be put into use again.[14]

Among important cargo types moved internationally on this line are chemical fertilizers.[13] Since 2015, direct trains have been run from the phosphate fertilizer manufacturers in Kaiyuan to consumers in Vietnam.[15][16] In the opposite direction, sulphur and zinc ore concentrate are imported to China from Vietnam.[16]

The overall role of the Kunming–Hekou meter-gauge line in the Sino-Vietnamese trade significantly declined in the 21st century, as compared to the railway's heyday in the first half of the 20th century. According to one article dated 2015 and describing the trade as it operated prior to the opening of the standard-gauge railway to Hekou in 2014 (see below), the most common route for cargo shipped from Kunming to Vietnam would be the rather circuitous one: via the Nanning–Kunming railway (opened 1997), the sea port of Fangchenggang, and then by ship to Haiphong.[17] However, since 2015, the amount of transborder shipments on the meter-gauge line has been on the increase again.[14][16] According to a 2017 report, the first quarter of 2017 saw 166,200 tons of freight shipped by rail on the transborder line, which represented a 66.2% increase from the same period of the previous year, and 12-year record.[16] This consisted of 74,100 tons of fertilizers exported from China to Vietnam and 92,100 tons of sulphur and zinc ore concentrate imported to China from Vietnam.[16]

On the Vietnamese side, the Hanoi–Haiphong and Hanoi–Lào Cai railways continue to be important for domestic and transborder cargo transportation. Passenger trains continue to run both from Hanoi to Haiphong and from Hanoi to the border town of Lào Cai.[11][12]

The new Kunming–Hekou railway line[edit]

A new 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge railway line from Kunming toward the Vietnamese border (the Kunming–Yuxi–Hekou railway) has been constructed in several stages between the 1990s and the 2010s. Its first section, a railway branch from Kunming to Yuxi, was opened in 1993.[18] The new Yuxi–Mengzi section opened for freight service in February 2013; in April 2013, passenger trains started running daily as far as Mengzi North, 258 km (160 mi) south of Kunming and approximately 150 km (93 mi) north of Hekou. A second daily train was added by July.[18]

The Mengzi–Hekou section was opened in December 2014, and regular passenger service started between Hekou North railway station and Kunming, with some trains continuing to Dali.[19]

Although the new Kunming–Yuxi–Mengzi–Hekou rail line roughly parallels the old Kunming–Haiphong railway, the routes of the two railways are significantly different: the new rail line, passing through Tonghai and Jianshui, is about 30 km (19 mi) west of the old 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+38 in) metre gauge railway (which runs via Yiliang and Kaiyuan).[18]

Connections to standard-gauge network[edit]

There are a few points where the Kunming–Haiphong railway comes into contact with the standard-gauge network, enabling transfer of freight between the narrow-gauge and standard-gauge trains.

In Vietnam, the Hanoi metropolitan area has standard-gauge access via the dual-gauge (meter and standard) line that runs from Hanoi's Gia Lâm railway station to the Chinese (Guangxi) border at Đồng Đăng; this is the line that enables direct standard-gauge connection between Hanoi and China.

At the narrow-gauge railway's northern end, Kunming, is served both by the meter-gauge railway and by standard-gauge railways. There is even a level-crossing between the tracks of different gauges.[20]

A short meter-gauge connector line has been constructed between the new Hekou North railway station (the southern terminal of the new standard-gauge line) and the old meter-gauge railway, thus allowing to bring cargo from Vietnam on meter-gauge railcar for reloading to standard-gauge rolling stock, and vice versa.[17] The short connecting line joins the Kunming–Haiphong narrow-gauge mainline at 22°30′53″N 103°59′10″E / 22.514674°N 103.986049°E / 22.514674; 103.986049, a few kilometers from the old Hekou Station.

A similar connection between the narrow-gauge and standard-gauge network exist in Mengzi,[17] where the narrow-gauge Yuguopo railway station (雨过铺站) on the Caoba–Guanjiashan branch is adjacent to the standard-gauge Mengzi North railway station (蒙自北站) on the Kunming–Yuxi–Hekou line.

Museums and memorials[edit]

A section of the commemorative relief series in Hekou

The Yunnan Railway Museum, at Kunming North railway station, has a large exhibit on the Kunming–Haiphong railway and its narrow-gauge branch lines within Yunnan, although it covers the history of the province's standard gauge railways as well.

At Hekou, the square outside of the new Hekou North railway station (opened 2014) is decorated with reliefs depicting the history of the transportation and economy in the region, with a special focus on the Kunming–Haiphong railway.

In fiction[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ 13 tunnels between Kebao and Yiliang.
  2. ^ 5 tunnels between Nuozu and Xi’er.
  3. ^ 6 tunnels between Xicheyi and Xunjiansi.
  4. ^ 4 tunnels between Xiaolongtan and Kaiyuan.
  5. ^ 11 tunnels between Kaiyuan and Dazhuang.
  6. ^ 27 tunnels between Luogu and Boduqing.
  7. ^ 4 tunnels between Boduqing and Wantang.
  8. ^ 6 tunnels between Baizhai and Lahadi.

Further reading[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Hulot, Frédéric (1990). Les chemins de fer de la France d'outre-mer. Vol. 1: L'Indochine – Le Yunnan (in French). Saint-Laurent-du-Var, France: La Régordane. pp. 28, 39. ISBN 978-2-906984-05-9.
  2. ^ Schmidt, Florian (1989), "Vietnam. Eisenbahn zwischen Mekong und Rotem Fluss", Dampf und Reise / Überseeische Eisenbahnen (6): 9, 18
  3. ^ Nami-Ti Railway Bridge
  4. ^ a b c Rousseau, Jean-François (June 2014). "An Imperial Railway Failure: The Indochina-Yunnan Railway, 1898–1941". Journal of Transport History. 35 (1): 1–17. doi:10.7227/TJTH.35.1.2. S2CID 111066738.
  5. ^ Whates, H. (1901), The Politician's Handbook, Vacher & Sons, p. 146
  6. ^ Davis, Clarence B.; Wilburn, Kenneth E. Jr; Robinson, Ronald E. (1991). "Railway Imperialism in China, 1895–1939". Railway Imperialism. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 159. ISBN 9780313259661. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
  7. ^ A Picture Album of Steam Locomotives in China, 1876–2001. China Rail Publishing House. 2001. ISBN 7-113-04147-7.
  8. ^ Middleton, William D. (2000), Yet There Isn't a Train I Wouldn't Take: Railway Journeys, Railroads Past and Present Series, Indiana University Press, p. 189, ISBN 0253336996
  9. ^ "This Train Beats Walking (Sometimes)" New York Times, 3 December 2000
  10. ^ a b c 滇越铁路徒步第一程(昆明——宜良) (A walk along the Kunming-Vietnam Railway. Part 1: Kunming-Chenggong)
  11. ^ a b c The rail runs through it. Straits Times, 23 August 2008
  12. ^ a b Li Liang, A Hundred Years on the Platform: Notes on Yunnan–Vietnam Railway Archived 21 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. (Based on a trip report in the late 2006).
  13. ^ a b 昆明铁路局修竣63辆米轨平车投入国际联运, 4 May 2015
  14. ^ a b "上半年中越米轨铁路国际联运增长106.9% (The first six months' international freight volume on the meter-gauge China–Vietnam railway has increased by 106.9% [compared to the previous year])", 新华云南 (Xinhua Yunnan), 4 August 2016
  15. ^ Yunnan's First Fertilizer Train Bounded for Vietnam, 19 March 2015, archived from the original on 29 April 2015, retrieved 15 May 2017
  16. ^ a b c d e 胡, 晓蓉 (Hu Xiaorong); 张, 伟明 (Zhang Weiming) (4 April 2017), "中越米轨铁路国际联运运量持续攀升 (The volume of international shipments on the China-Vietnam meter-gauge railway continues to climb)", 云南日报 (Yunnan Ribao), archived from the original on 4 April 2017
  17. ^ a b c Lu, Hua (陆华); Guo, Weina (郭薇娜) (24 April 2015), 昆明铁路局:国际铁路联运开启云南货运新篇章 [Kunming Railway Bureau: An international railway link opens a new chapter in Yunnan's freigh transportation]
  18. ^ a b c Matthew Hartzell, Yuxi-Mengzi: China's newest railway
  19. ^ Hekou North schedule (in Chinese)
  20. ^ Wang, Na (王娜) (5 December 2016), 昆明准轨米轨铁路十字路口世界唯一 (World's only grade crossing of a standard-gauge and meter-gauge railways in Kunming) (Note: While this crossing may be unique for China, level crossings between standard-gauge and meter-gauge tracks can in fact be seen elsewhere in the world, e.g. in northeastern Vietnam, where both gauges are in use).
  21. ^ "Book Review: Fan Wen's Bisezhai Station (碧色寨)"

External links[edit]