BEIJING, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Qinghai-Tibet railway is
ready for operation on July 1, said a senior official with the Ministry of
Railways at a news conference here Thursday.
Zhu Zhensheng, vice director of an office in charge
of the railway under the ministry, said the railway will go into operation one
year ahead of the schedule with good construction, environment and safety
conditions.
The Qinghai-Tibet railway stretches 1,956 km from
Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous
Region. The section of 814 km from Xining to Golmud began operation in 1984.
Most parts of the 1,142-km new track from Golmud to
Lhasa are located more than 4,000 meters above sea level, with the highest point
at 5,072 meters.
In this regard, the railway is the highest in the
world, said Zhu at the news conference held by the Information Office of the
State Council.
According to Zhu, the construction of the railway has
resolved three major difficulties -- frozen tundra, high altitude and plateau
environmental protection.
The testing operations of freight trains and
passenger trains have been smooth, which paves the way for the formal operation
of the track, said Zhu.
In testing operations, the trains reached the
designed speed of 100 km per hour when running across the frozen tundra and 120
km per hour in non-tundra area, he said.
Trains linking Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Lanzhou,
Xining and Lhasa will operate in the early phase, and more trains will be added
in the near future, said Zhu. Enditem
