Qinghai-Tibet Railway

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Owing to the developed railway network and safety guarantee, It's a rather good choice to travel China by train.
It has been being a strong will of China government, Tibetan people and all other Chinese people to extend Chinese railway networks to the roof of the world--the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. On July 1, 2006, Tibet train from inland cities started to operation, it was a milestone day. A period of history was over at that day and a new era for speedy development of Tibetan economy was coming. Tibet train is trying to be the "locomotive" of Tibet travel. Tibe train increases over 3000 tourists every day for Tibet travel which has become the mainstay industry of Tibet. Let us show you more about Tibet train.

Qinghai-Tibet Railway quick facts

Brief Introduction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway

China has rewritten the world s history of railway construction with its completion of the world s highest railway,the Qinghai-Tibet Railway,on the roof of the world.
The 1956-kilometer railway link begins in Xining,capital city of Qinghai Province and goes to Lhasa,capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region. The 814 kilometer-long stretch from Xining to Golmud was built in 1979 and started operation in 1984. The 1142 kilometer stretch between Golmud and Lhasa runs south along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway and was constructed by rebuilding the original 32-kilometer-long line from Golmud to Nanshankou and laying 1110 kilometers of new track.
The railway construction was complex and highly demanding for those involved. They confronted a range of challenges including perennial frozen ground,severe cold,a lack of oxygen because of the altitude and care had to be taken with the fragile ecology which was all round the construction work.
Work started on June 29,2001. Up to March 25,2006 investment in the project stood at 28.5 billion yuan (about US$3.6 billion) C 1.2 billion yuan (US$150 million) of which was spent on environmental protection projects. Trial operations will begin on July 1,2006 with a total investment of 6.5 billion yuan (US$812 million) being made in this part of the project.
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has long been described as "the Roof of the World" and the third polar region. It's the starting point of many of China's rivers. In building the Qinghai-Tibet Railway,great care has been taken to protect the unique,fragile and sensitive geographical environment of this plateau.
The highest point on the line is 5,072 meters above sea level. The railway covers 960-kilometers at an altitude of more than 4000 meters and over 550 kilometers within the "frozen earth" area.

Below are some facts about the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

• Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's highest railway. Some 960 kilometers of its tracks are located 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 meters,at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes,which was formerly the world's most elevated track.
• The railway is the world's longest plateau railroad, extending 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa in Tibet. The newly completed Golmud-Lhasa section zigzags 1,142 kilometers across the Kunlun and Tanggula mountain ranges.
• About 550 kilometers of the tracks run on frozen earth, the longest in any of the world's plateau railways.
• Tanggula Railway Station,5,068 meters above sea level,is the highest railway station in the world.
• Fenghuoshan Tunnel,4,905 meters above sea level,is the world's most elevated tunnel on frozen earth.
• Kunlun Mountain Tunnel,run ning 1,686 meters,is the world's longest plateau tunnel built on frozen earth.
• Upon its completion,the maximum train speed is designed to reach 100 kilometers per hour in the frozen earth areas and 120 kilometers per hour on non-frozen earth.
• Construction of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the landmark railway commenced on June 29,2001 and test runs are set for July 2006.
• 1,686 meters: Kunlun Mountain Tunnel,running 1,686 meters,is the world's longest plateau tunnel built on frozen earth.
• 4,905 meters: Fenghuoshan Tunnel,4,905 meters above sea level,is the world's most elevated tunnel on frozen earth.
• 45 stations: Altogether there are 45 stations along the rail line. Tanggula Railway Station,5,068 meters above sea level,is the highest railway station in the world.
• 120 kilometers per hour: Upon its completion,the maximum train speed is designed to reach 100 km per hour in the frozen earth areas and 120 km per hour on non-frozen earth.
• 1,956 kilometers: The railway is the world's longest plateau railroad,extending 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa in Tibet.
• 5,072 meters: Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's highest railway. Part of its tracks are located 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 meters.
• 550 kilometers:About 550 kilometers of the tracks run on frozen earth,the longest in any of the world's plateau railways.

Brief introduction of Tibet trains

The passenger trains in China are classified as Express Trains, Through Trains and Ordinary Trains (slow trains) as per the driving speed and stopover stations in journey. Most passenger trains are equipped with air-conditioning,and all long-distance trains have sleeping carriages. 'Sleepers' come in two categories; 'hard' and 'soft' sleeper berths. Hard-sleeper carriages have open compartments with six berths to a compartment and 60 berths per carriage. Conversely, soft-sleeper carriages have enclosed compartments with four bunks to a compartment, the latter are often favored by foreign travelers. All trains are equipped with a dining carriage where a selection of popular Chinese food and some western food is available. Foreign travelers will find it advantageous to carry a Chinese phrase book as English speaking staff is not commonly found within China's rail service.
Qinghai-Tibet trains are express trains with advanced equipments. 14 compartments are set on each train including 2 cushioned berths compartments with 64 persons,8 semi cushioned berths compartments with 480 persons and 4 ordinary seats compartments with 392 persons. So the total capacity of the train is 936 persons. Please click here to see some pictures in train.

Note: Besides the direct train between Xining and Lhasa, there are many trains beginning from other cities will pass by Xining, passengers can also choose these trains when direct train is fully booked in high season.

Xi'an/Lhasa
There is no direct train from Xi'an to Lhasa, but passengers can take train by trains stopping over here. The trains passing by Xi'an are T27/T28(Beijing/Lhasa), T164,T165/T166,T163(Shanghai/Lhasa), T264,T265/T266,T263(Guangzhou/Lhasa), T222,T223/T224,T221(Chongqing/Lhasa).
Please contact PTT's travel advisor for booking train ticket you need.

Golmud/Lhasa
There is no direct train from Golmud to Lhasa, but passengers can take train by trains stopping over here. The trains passing by Golmud are T22,T23/T24,T21(Chengdu/Lhasa), T222,T223/T224,T221(Chongqing/Lhasa), T264,T265/T266,T263(Guangzhou/Lhasa), T27/T28(Beijing/Lhasa), T164,T165/T166,T163(Shanghai/Lhasa), K9801/K9802(Xi'ning/Lhasa).
Please contact PTT's travel advisor for booking train ticket you need.

Note:

• Frequency: everyday, means there are daily departed train between the two cities; Frequency: even/odd, means the train will depart every other day. If it is 'even' in January, it means the train will depart every even day in this month, if it indicates 'odd', that means the train will depart every odd day in this month.
• Train fare is composed by two parts: actual train ticket price + handling fare. Please contact PTT travel advisor for train ticket quotation and other details.
• Train fare is composed by two parts: actual train ticket price + handling fare.

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About Tibet Train Tours

• 14 Days Qinghai-Tibet Railway tour from Chengdu to Tibet
• 9 Days Qinghai-Tibet Railway tour from Xining to Tibet
• 11 Days Qinghai-Tibet Railway tour from Chengdu to Tibet