Lhasa-Xigaze Railway to Be Completed by 2015

( 2011-March-3 13:52:55)

Lhasa-Xigaze Railway to Be Completed by 2015

An extension of the world’s highest railway from Tibet’s capital Lhasa to its second largest city, Xigaze, will be completed by 2015. Budgeted at RMB 13.3 billion, it will be one of the plateau region’s key construction projects during the 2011-2015 period, and the first extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway that opened in July 2006. The 253-km route of the new section will pass through five counties and the 90-km-long Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon. Construction began in September 2010. With a designed freight transport capacity of 8.3 million tons annually, the new rail link, together with the Xigaze Airport that opened in November 2010, will play a vital role in boosting the economic development of Xigaze and of the entire southwestern part of Tibet that had previously relied solely on road transport. Work will start on another extension of the plateau railway, from Lhasa to Nyingchi, within the next five years, according to Tibet’s plan for economic and social development in the 12th Five-year plan period.