The Dali–Lijiang Railway or Dali Railway (simplified Chinese: 大丽铁路; traditional Chinese: 大麗鐵路; pinyin: dàlì tiělù), is a single-track electrified railroad in Yunnan Province of Southwest China. The line runs 165 km (103 mi) from Dali to Lijiang and was built from 2004 to 2009.[1][2] Bridges and tunnels account 98 km (61 mi) of the total length of the line.[2] The trip by train between the two cities takes 1.5 hours compared to four hours by bus.[1]
On October 30, 2011, the Dali-Lijiang Railway was extended northward by 16-km after the Renhe-Lijiang (Renli) rail extension was completed.[3] The Renli section begins from Renhe Station, near Renhe village in Qihe Township of Old Town Lijiang, and runs north to the newly-built Lijiang Railway Station.[3] The new Lijiang Station is the second largest passenger railway station in Yunnan and will serve as the southern terminus of the Lijiang-Shangri-La Railway.[3]