The first passenger train from China's leading metropolis
Shanghai to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, began its
4,373 km journey on Sunday.
Carrying 592 passengers, the train, with 15 cars, left Shanghai
Railway Station at 4:11 P.M. and is expected to arrive in Lhasa at
7:50 P.M. on Tuesday.
The train, departing every other day, is composed of two soft
sleeping berth carriages, seven hard sleeping berth carriages, four
hard seaters, one dining carriage and one for staff members.
The train will be running on sections of the Beijing-Shanghai,
Lianyungang-Lanzhou, Lanzhou-Xining and Qinghai-Tibet railways.
Sources with the Shanghai Railway Administration said that they
made careful preparations for the operation of the train services.
Train stewards had been trained on how to deal with problems
related to altitude and also been taught about Tibetan religious
customs.
By Friday, the 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's
highest railway, had carried 380,500 passengers to Lhasa since
entering service on July 1, 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, is the first
railway ever to go to Tibet. Before the plateau railway began
service, people reached Tibet only via air or highway.
(Xinhua News Agency October 2, 2006)