Track laying started on Saturday for the Inner Mongolia-Jiangxi Railway, China's longest heavy haul railway line, according to a report by China Youth Online.

The new railway is the longest special line for the transportation of coal across China. It starts in western Inner Mongolia and ends at central Jiangxi Province in eastern China, crossing seven provinces, with 80 stations located along the route. The 1,837 kilometers is expected to carry around 200 million tons of coal each year.

The railway is a major project undertaken in response to China's new national strategy of north-south coal transportation.

Construction on the railway started in 2015. Current plans call for construction to be completed December next year.