The Last Mile of Rail Track to Lhasa
In a year or so those who want to travel to Lhasa, Tibet, should be able to reach the remote city by train. According to China’s Xinhua News Agency, constructors of the railway that links Lhasa to interior China are laying down the last section of the rail track of the Golmud-Lhasa Railway. The rail track is expected to make connect with the newly built Lhasa railway station shortly, by October 18.
The rail link, known as Golmud-Lhasa Railway, extends from Golmud in China’s Qinghai Province to Lhasa, which is the last provincial capital in China that is not currently connected by rail. The railway is constructed over Tibetan Plateau, which has been described as “the roof of the world” due to its high elevation. Measured 1168 kilometers (685 miles) in length , the railway has the highest elevation for any railway in the world - 84% of its length is built on terrains of over 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) in elevation; that is 1,000 meters higher than the railway in operation in the Peruvian part of the Andean Mountains. Since much of the area that the new Golmud-Lhasa Railway runs through is remote and uninhabited, 18 of the 29 stations along the way will have no permanently positioned staff. One station atop the Nyanchen Tanglha mountain range is the highest in the world, sitting at 16,627 feet above sea-level.
With its track laid almost in full, the Golmud-Lhasa railway is expected to open officially in July 2006.
Back to China Notes and News
|
