KORGAS - A second cross-border railway to Kazakhstan opened Saturday linking China's northwest Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and the central Asian country.

The rail line started service with a freight train, which travelled from China's east Jiangsu province's port city Lianyungang, passing through the Xinjiang-Kazakhstan border city of Korgas and entered Kazakhstan's railway.

The railway, connecting the two countries at Korgas, will also help the city become an international transportation hub with a network of highways, railways and pipelines, which in turn will make Xinjiang more open to the west.