New rail line to link Chengdu with Lhasa
Construction on a rail line linking Chengdu with Lhasa in Tibet will commence this month, according to a China Daily report.
The new train route will make it possible to travel by rail between Chengdu and Lhasa in under nine hours. The trip will cover 1,629 kilometers at a designed speed of 200 kilometers per hour.
At present, the only overland options between Chengdu are a three-day road trip on the No 318 national highway or a 45-hour rail trip that passes through Shaanxi and Qinghai provinces.
No projected completion date has been provided for the rail line's construction, which will face challenges including cold weather, low oxygen levels, land and rock slides and frozen earth.
Sichuan cities that will be stops on the proposed line include Pujiang (浦江), Ya'an (雅安), Kangding (康定) and Litang (理塘).
Potala Palace image: gosichuan.com
This article was posted by Chris and published September 1, 2009
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