Qinghai-Tibet Heavy Rail Line, China
Key Data:
Developer
Government of the Peoples' Republic of China
Opened
Xining to Golmud: 1984
Golmud to Lhasa: 2006
Route Length
Total 1,956km (Xining to Golmud 815km; Golmud to Lhasa 1,142km)
Line Speed
120km/h (unfrozen section), 100km/h (frozen section)
Freight Capacity
7.5 million tonnes a year
Extensions Planned
Lhasa to Shigatse (280km) commencing late 2007, scheduled for completion in 2010. Further extensions to link Shigatse to Zhangmu, Nyingchi to Dali and Shigatse with Yadong
Stations
45 stations are open, with 13 more planned. 38 are unmanned
Rolling Stock
Locomotives
GE Transportation NJ2; Qishuyang series DF8CJ 9000
Carriages
361 Bombardier Transportation high-altitude passenger carriages (308 standard cars, 53 special tourist cars)
Special Characteristics
Links Qinghai province to the Tibetan Autonomous Region
Over four fifths of the railway lies above 4,000m and over half of it was built on permafrost
The carriages have supplementary oxygen because of the high altitude
Expected to more than double goods movements into and out of Tibet by 2010
Passenger service to encourage tourism
Highest rail track in the world and the longest plateau railway
Direct trains run from Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xining, and Lanzhou, linking Lhasa to major cities in the Peoples’ Republic of China
