Qinghai-Tibet Railway hauls 380,500 passengers to Tibet
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-09-30 09:50
By Friday, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest railway, had
carried 380,500 passengers to Lhasa since entering service on July 1.
A section of Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The world's highest railway,
had carried 380,500 passengers to Lhasa since entering service on July 1.
[newsphoto] |
Apart from one incident in which the dining carriage of a train derailed in a
station, no serious traffic accidents, passenger injuries or deaths occurred in
the first three months of operation, said Sun Yongfu, director of construction
for the plateau railway.
The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which starts from Xining, capital of northwest
China's Qinghai Province, and ends in Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet
Autonomous Region, is the first railway ever to go to Tibet.
Before the plateau railway began service, people reached Tibet only via air
or highway. Some 550 kilometers of the 1,956 km history-making railway are built
on frozen earth.
Close observation results indicate that 95 percent of the roadbeds built on
frozen earth underwent minor changes in the July-September period when
temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are at their highest, said Sun, who
was formerly Vice Minister of Railways.
According to Sun, the annual sinking rate for the railway's frozen earth
roadbeds will be less than 2 centimeters. (For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)
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