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Work begins on world's highest railway
Source: Xinhua |
September 27, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA yesterday began work on an extension to the world's highest rail link, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The 253 kilometer line from Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to Xigaze, the second largest city in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region, will pass through five counties as well as over the 90 kilometers long Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.
The work will take about four years to complete and will be the first extension to the Qinghai-Tibet Railway which opened in July 2006.
The Lhasa-Xigaze railway, with a budget of 13.3 billion yuan (US$1.95 billion), will be able to transport 8.3 million tons of cargo per year. Local authorities did not provide a projected annual passenger number.
Zhang Qingli, Communist Party chief of Tibet, said the rail line would make train services available in southwestern Tibetan regions which currently rely solely on roads for transport.
The railway will detour around nature reserves and drinking water sources and more measures will be taken during construction to better protect the fragile plateau environment, Zhang said.
Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun said the extension is a key project in China's long and medium-term railway network expansion and will speed up Tibet's social and economic development.
It will also play a vital role in boosting tourism and promoting the rational use of resources along the line, he said.
Tibet is also planning to build another railway to link Lhasa with Nyingchi to boost tourism and the economy.
During its four-year operation, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has reduced transport costs and greatly boosted economic growth in Tibet, especially through developing tourism, Liu said.
Xigaze, which is more than 600 years old, is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Xigaze City is the administrative center of the Tibetan prefecture of the same name, a 182,000-square-kilometer area that borders India, Nepal and Bhutan. It is also the home of Mount Everest.
The 253 kilometer line from Tibet's capital, Lhasa, to Xigaze, the second largest city in the southwestern Tibet Autonomous Region, will pass through five counties as well as over the 90 kilometers long Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon.
The work will take about four years to complete and will be the first extension to the Qinghai-Tibet Railway which opened in July 2006.
The Lhasa-Xigaze railway, with a budget of 13.3 billion yuan (US$1.95 billion), will be able to transport 8.3 million tons of cargo per year. Local authorities did not provide a projected annual passenger number.
Zhang Qingli, Communist Party chief of Tibet, said the rail line would make train services available in southwestern Tibetan regions which currently rely solely on roads for transport.
The railway will detour around nature reserves and drinking water sources and more measures will be taken during construction to better protect the fragile plateau environment, Zhang said.
Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun said the extension is a key project in China's long and medium-term railway network expansion and will speed up Tibet's social and economic development.
It will also play a vital role in boosting tourism and promoting the rational use of resources along the line, he said.
Tibet is also planning to build another railway to link Lhasa with Nyingchi to boost tourism and the economy.
During its four-year operation, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has reduced transport costs and greatly boosted economic growth in Tibet, especially through developing tourism, Liu said.
Xigaze, which is more than 600 years old, is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lamas.
Xigaze City is the administrative center of the Tibetan prefecture of the same name, a 182,000-square-kilometer area that borders India, Nepal and Bhutan. It is also the home of Mount Everest.
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