Tibet Railway and China
In October 1955, the great Chinese leader Mao Zedong sent a team to the Tibetan plateau to investigate the feasibility of constructing the railway.
In 1956, the Ministry of Railways officially launched the primary planning of the project. In the summer of 1957, a 13-person team was dispatched to start the survey.
In September 1958, construction of the Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was secretly launched in Xining, and the Guanjiao Tunnel at the same time. However, the project was interrupted many times due to economic difficulties.
In 1974, the construction of the Xining-Golmud section was resumed. At the same time, the scientific research, survey and design work of the Golmud-Lhasa Section was also restarted again.
In September 1979, the first phase of the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway from Xining to Golmud was completed. And it was opened for civil use in 1984. Due to the limited technological and economic capabilities of China at that time, the construction of the railway from Golmud to Lhasa was not continued.
On June 29th, 2001, construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway officially started at Golmud, Qinghai Province.
On August 24th, 2005, track was laid at the railway's highest point, the Tanggula Pass, 5,072 m (16,640 feet) above sea level.
On October 12th, 2005, Lhasa-Golmud Railway was completed with rails reaching the Lhasa Railway Station. But, there was still a lot of work to do, like track testing and signaling work.
On July 1st, 2006, the world famous Qinghai-Tibet Railway was put into operation. At the beginning, only three train routes ran: daily trains running from Beijing to Lhasa and on alternate days between Chengdu-Lhasa and Chongqing-Lhasa, and between Xining-Lhasa and Lanzhou-Lhasa.
As of Oct 1st, 2006, two more trains, from Shanghai and Guangzhou, were officially set for operation on alternate days, and both of the two trains ran every other day.
In July 2010 the Shanghai–Lhasa service became daily, and a daily service between Xining and Lhasa was added, but the service was then suspended for the winter low season.
On September 26th, 2010, the construction of Lhasa-Shigatse Railway, the first extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, was started. It will be finished in 2014.
The number of passengers taking the train has increased from 6.4 million in 2006, to 10 million in 2011 and 10.76 million in 2012.
