The Beijing–Baotou railway or Jingbao railway (simplified Chinese: 京包铁路; traditional Chinese: 京包鐵路; pinyin: Jīngbāo Tiělù) is an 833 km (518 mi) railway from Beijing to Baotou, Inner Mongolia, functioning as an important route in North China. It was the first railway in China designed and built by Chinese. It passes through a famous section of the Great Wall at Badaling. It is now largely paralleled with Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway and Zhangjiakou–Hohhot high-speed railway.

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Beijing–Baotou railway
Aerial view of the NDJ3 DMU trainset along the Beijing–Baotou railway.
Overview
Other name(s)	Jingbao railway
Status	Operational
Owner	China Railway
Locale	North China
Termini	Beijing North (nominal) Changping (actual) Baotou
Stations	89
Service
Type	Regional rail Inter-city rail Commuter rail Freight rail
System	China Railway Beijing Suburban Railway (S2)
Operator(s)	China Railway Beijing Group China Railway Hohhot Group
History
Commenced	Between 1905–1909; 115 years ago (1909)
Opened	24 September 1909; 114 years ago (1909-09-24)
Technical
Line length	834 km (518 mi)
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	25 kV/50 Hz AC overhead (except Changping–Shacheng)
Operating speed	100 km/h (62 mph)
Route map Legend km elev 0 Beijing North Qinghuayuan tunnel 4 Qinghuayuan Wudaokou crossing 11 Qinghe Beijing Northeast Ring railway to Shuangqiao 21 Shahe original Beijing Northwest Ring Railway to Sanjiadian above belong to Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway Beijing Northeast Ring railway 31 Changping Actual origin Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway Beijing–Tongliao railway Beijing Suburban Railway section below 40 Nankou 46 Dongyuan 50 Juyongguan 54 Sanpu Qinglong Bridge, zig zag railway Qinglongqiao West Qinglongqiao Qinglong Bridge, zig zag railway 61 Badaling Xibozi Kangyan Railway (S2) to Yanqing 70 Kangzhuang 79 Donghuayuan Guishui river bridge over Guanting Reservoir 90 Langshan Tumu single-track unelectrified two-track electrified Beijing Suburban Railway section above from Fengsha and Daqin lines 105 Shacheng Shayu Railway 114 Xinbaoan 122 Xibali 130 Xiahuayuan Xinzhuangzi Xuanpang Railway and Xuanyan Railway 155 Xuanhua Shalingzi East 170 Shalingzi Tangshan–Baotou railway Zhanglan Railway (planned) to Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway 180 Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou Railway Zhangjiakou South railway station Zhangjiakou (former end of Beijing-Zhangjiakou Railway) 193 Kongjiazhuang Tangshan–Baotou railway Wangyuzhuang 210 Guoleizhuang 224 Chaigoubu Xiwanbu 254 Yongjiabao Xiaxiaobao 272 Tianzhen Luowenzao 301 Yanggao Wangguanrentun Julebao 342 Zhoushizhuang link to Datong–Qinhuangdao railway Dazhun Railway (coal line) 353 Datong East 358 Datong Datong–Puzhou railway Gudian 371 Gushan 389 Baoziwan Wutaiwa 403 Fengzhen Dazhun Railway Jiandi 419 Xin'anzhuang 428 Yongwangzhuang 439 Hongshaba Suojiacun 454 Tuguiwula Naji 470 Suji Zhangji Railway 478 Guyingpan 485 Jining South to Jining–Erenhot railway and Jining–Tongliao railway Tangshan–Baotou railway 493 Hulu left line assigned to Tangshan–Baotou railway Sanchakou 512 Basumu 523 Shibatai Hala 537 Magaitu 545 Gujiabao Zhuozi East 551 Zhuozishan 565 Fushengzhuang Anju 580 Sandaoying Mengguying Qixiaying East 593 Qixiaying 604 Minzu left line assigned to Tangshan–Baotou railway 612 Taobuqi right line assigned toTangshan–Baotou railway Guojiaying Baita Nandian Hohhot Youyouban Taigemu Actual end Tangshan–Baotou railway Dalibao 693 Bikeqi 706 Chasuqi Songla 724 Taosihao Sanbashu 742 Meidaizhao Laozang 760 Salaqi 774 Gongjiban 789 Dongxing Guchengwan 804 Baotou East Baotou–Shijiao railway and Baotou Loop Railway 812 Wanshuiquan Baotou–Shenmu railway 820 Baotou Baotou–Baiyun railway and Baotou Loop Railway Baotou–Lanzhou railway and Jining–Baotou railway This diagram: view talk edit

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In 2019, with the opening of the Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway, the Beijing–Baotou railway adjusted the mileage. The ordinary-speed line from Changping to Shahe was merged into the Shuangqiao–Shahe Railway (Beijing Northeast Ring railway). The actual starting point of the Beijing–Baotou railway was shortened to the south side of Changping, the section from Changping to Beijing North is considered part of Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway.

The first section of the Beijing–Baotou railway, the Imperial Peking–Kalgan railway (now the "Jingzhang" railway) was constructed between 1905 and 1909, connecting Beijing with Zhangjiakou (Kalgan). This section was the first railway designed and built by Chinese. The chief engineer is Zhan Tianyou. He overcame the steep gradient near Badaling using a switchback. Due to his achievement in constructing this railway, Zhan (Jeme) is called the father of China's railways.

The railway was extended from Zhangjiakou to Hohhot by 1921 and to Baotou by 1923.

Even with the switchback, the gradient near Qinglongqiao railway station is still at 3.3%. In addition, travelling through the switchback is slow. A bypass route, the Fensha railway, was built in the 1950s between Fengtai and Shacheng along the Yongding river. This route was considered but dropped by Zhan due to high construction cost. Before the 1990s, the Fengsha railway was mainly used to transport freight, and the original Jingzhang railway was focused on passenger transport. Now, trains to/from Baotou have changed to use the Fengsha railway instead.

The Beijing–Zhangjiakou intercity railway and the Zhangjiakou–Hohhot high-speed railway, which both opened on 30 December 2019, parallel most of the line.

To improve the freight capacity of Tangshan–Hohhot railway, those two railway lines exchange their main line between Hulu railway station and Taobuqi railway station in September 2020, separating the freight and passenger corridors. Meanwhile the section between Taigemu railway station and Baotou railway station was also assigned to Tangshan–Hohhot railway which has been renamed as Tangshan–Baotou railway.^[1]

The main route that deviates via the Fengsha railway is a double-track, electrified line. The section between Jining South and Baotou is quadruple track. The section between Changping and Shacheng is not electrified and mainly single-track. It is now used by little traffic. Freight and long-distance passenger services run via the Fengsha railway. 13 express services run each way between Beijing and Baotou each day, taking approximately 11 hours, stopping in Xuanhua, Zhangjiakou, Datong, Jining South, Hohhot and Baotou.

Some of the following stations are now disused.

• The Qinglongqiao Station in 1908
• Sun Yat-sen inspecting the Beijing–Zhangjiakou railway at the Zhangjiakou railway station in 1912, shortly after the founding of the Republic of China.
• Bridge over the Yongding River in 1952
• A steam locomotive and a diesel locomotive near Badaling in 1979

• List of railways in China
• Rail transport in Inner Mongolia
• Rail transport in the People's Republic of China