China’s self-developed Fuxing bullet train is expected to run on the Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Railway soon, as an upgrade of the section linking Xining city with Golmud in Northwest China’s Qinghai Province is undergoing final inspection and handover preparation, China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co said on Monday.
“The section between Xining and Golmud opened for traffic in May 1984. The running of 160 kilometers per hour Fuxing train soon marks another milestone in the plateau railway development and represents a notable progress for regional transport,” the company said in a press release.
The company will conduct testing on functions including the supply of electricity, communications signals, vehicle facilities and environmental protection. Following final inspection and handover, test runs will be carried out.
Following the revamp, travel time for fastest trains on the 829-kilometer section will be reduced to about 4.8 hours, which is about two hours faster than the current fastest trains, according to reports.
The construction of the railway started in 1958, and the section linking Xining and Golmud was finished in 1984. The section between Golmud and Lhasa opened to traffic in 2006. In July 2022, the company started upgrade of the railway to support electric, multiple-unit high-speed trains.
With a total length of 1,956 kilometers, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is known as a plateau railway featuring the highest altitude and longest distance in the world. It starts from Xining in Qinghai province, and ends in Lhasa in Southwest China’s Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region.
From its opening in 2006 to the end of 2022, the Qinghai-Xizang Railway has transported a total of 803 million tons of goods and 265 million passengers, official data showed.
(Global Times)
