The construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is expected to be started in September 2014

It is reported that the construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway will be started in September 2014, and it will take about 6 years to complete the whole construction of the 435.39 kilometers railway connects Nyingchi and Lhasa. According to the deputy director of the Lhasa Railway Office, the construction technology of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is as complicated and difficult as that of the Lhasa-Shigatse Railway (which will be put into operation in September 2014).

Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway runs across 9 counties and towns

Started from Lhasa City, Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway stretches to Nyingchi via Gonggar County, Tsanang County, Nedong County, Sangri County, Gyacha County, Langxian County and Milin County. The above 9 counties are rich in mineral resources and have large population. The mineral resurces in these counties were not exploited in large scale due to the lagged transportation. The Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway will act as a effective passage to provide transportation support for the exploitation of the mineral resources along the railway.

The planning Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway connects the Sichuan-Tibet Railway and Yunnan-Tibet (both the two railways are under planning) Railway in the east. It will connects the cities and regions in southeast and central China in the future. According to the project, the running speed of the trains on Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is 160km per hour, which means tourists could take less time to get to Nyingchi from Lhasa by train compared to go to Lhasa by driving along the State Highway G318.

Construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is full of difficulty

The planning Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway is located in southeastern Tibet Plateau which is characterized by violent crustal movement. The construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway has to avoid the glacier areas and areas with frequent debris flow. The design department has to find out methods to deal with the severe geographical conditions if the railway has to run across the areas with frequent debris flow and glaciers. In addition, the 1500km long fault zone stretches across the Tibet Plateau add more challenge to the construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway. The protection of the wild animals and plants is also a great concern for the design and construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway.

Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway will form sightseeing belt

The construction of the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway will greatly promote the tourism development in southeast Tibet. There are rich tourism resources in the regions between Lhasa and Nyingchi. Tourists from different corners of the world could not only visit the scenic spots in Tibet, but also visit the spots in Yunnan Province and Sichuan Province in one journey after the Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway links the railways to Tibet from Shichuan and Yunnan.

The highway transportation is the main transportation method in southeast Tibet so far. There are a few flights to Nyingchi Milin Airport from Lhasa, Chengdu and Chongqing. Both the air transportation and highway transportation are greatly influenced by the climate. Therefore, the transportation in southeast Tibet is unnable to keep pace with the local economic development needs. The Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway will inject new vitality to the economic development.