The Geku railway () is a railway connecting Golmud and Korla, in western China. Construction started in November 2014 and was completed in 2020. The length of the line is , joining Qinghai Province and Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The investment is estimated to have been CNÃÂ¥36 billion (~US$6 billion). The line connects the QinghaiâÂÂTibet railway and the Southern Xinjiang railway. It's the third railway connecting Xinjiang with another Chinese subdivision and the third line to Golmud after the QinghaiâÂÂTibet railway and the 2019 GolmudâÂÂDunhuang railway. It is part of the Taklimakan Desert railway loop, together with sections of the HotanâÂÂRuoqiang railway, KashgarâÂÂHotan railway, and Southern Xinjiang railway.
The railway crosses the Qaidam Basin, the Altyn-Tagh mountain range, and the Taklamakan Desert. As the third rail artery linking Xinjiang with neighboring provinces, the line cut travel time between the two places from 26 hours to 12 hours.
The railway generally follows the route of Qinghai Provincial Highway 303 (from Golmud to Mangya Lake è«å´Âæ¹Â), China National Highway 315 (from Mangya Lake to Ruoqiang) and China National Highway 218 (from Ruoqiang to Korla).
A long viaduct crosses over the Karakoshun Lake.
The line is used for passenger travel and cargo such as petroleum products.
Combined with the HotanâÂÂRuoqiang railway along the southern rim of the Tarim Basin (which opened on June 16, 2022), the KashgarâÂÂHotan railway, the KorlaâÂÂKashgar section of the Southern Xinjiang railway, and the RuoqiangâÂÂKorla section of the GolmudâÂÂKorla railway, railways now form a loop around the Tarim Basin.
With a design speed of , the Qinghai section of the rail route launched on 30 June 2020 stretching and 15 stations, with one pair of passenger trains and two pairs of freight trains per day at launch. The remaining section opened on 9 December 2020.
On 11 October 2021, service frequency between Golmud and Mangyazhen was increased to one train in each direction per day.