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http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/14.07/chinarail.html
The Qinghai-Xizang railway, or Qinghai-Tibet railway, is a railway which connects Xining, Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China.
This railway, set to be launched for trial operation on 1 July 2006, is the first to connect China proper with Tibet Autonomous Region, which due to its altitude and terrain is the last province-level entity in mainland China with no railways. Unmanned testing of the line and equipment is expected to begin on May 1, 2006. Direct trains are expected to run from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu, establishing a straight connection between these major Chinese cities and Tibet.
The line includes the Tanggula Pass, which at 5,072 meters above sea level is the world's highest rail track.
The 1,338-meter Fenghuoshan tunnel is the highest rail tunnel in the world. It is 4,905 meters above sea level. The 3,345-meter Yangbajing No. 1 tunnel is the longest tunnel of the line. It is 4,264 meters above sea level and located 80 kilometres NW of the regional capital, Lhasa.
More than 960 km, or over 80% of the railway, is built at an altitude of more than 4,000 meters, and over half of it is laid on permafrost. |
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