Sketch map of the route of Qinghai-Tibet railway (Source: Tibet.cn)
Facts about Qinghai-Tibet Railway
China has rewritten the world's history of railway construction with its completion of the world's highest railway, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, on the roof of the world.
Below are some facts about the Qinghai-Tibet Railway:
* Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's highest railway. Some 960 kilometers of its tracks are located 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 meters, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was formerly the world's most elevated track.
* The railway is the world's longest plateau railroad, extending 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa in Tibet. The newly completed Golmud-Lhasa section zigzags 1,142 kilometers across the Kunlun and Tanggula mountain ranges.
* About 550 kilometers of the tracks run on frozen earth, the longest in any of the world's plateau railways.
* Tanggula Railway Station, 5,068 meters above sea level, is the highest railway station in the world.
* Fenghuoshan Tunnel, 4,905 meters above sea level, is the world's most elevated tunnel on frozen earth.
* Kunlun Mountain Tunnel, running 1,686 meters, is the world's longest plateau tunnel built on frozen earth.
* Upon its completion, the maximum train speed is designed to reach 100 kilometers per hour in the frozen earth areas and 120 kilometers per hour on non-frozen earth.
* Construction of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the landmark railway commenced on June 29, 2001 and test runs are set for July 2006.