It runs from Haolebaoji South railway station[1] in Uxin Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia to Ji'an railway station in Ji'an City, Jiangxi.

It was built to facilitate coal transport from Inner Mongolia and Shanxi to China's southern provinces at up to 200 million tons a year.

The railway is also the first north-south railway in China that is dedicated to coal, and is built to bypass existing coal transport routes that go via coastal cities by ship.

[3] The line connects to existing railways at several points to share maintenance facilities.

[1] The line was approved in 2014 at a cost of US$27.2 billion, financed by China Railway and several large domestic coal mining companies.