Lhasa–Nyingchi railway explained

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Lhasa–Nyingchi railway
Other Name:Lalin Line
Native Name:拉林铁路
Native Name Lang:zh
Type:Higher-speed rail
Status:Operational
Locale:Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Start:Lhasa
End:Nyingchi
Stations:34
Owner:China Railway
Operator:China Railway Qingzang Group
Stock:China Railway CR200J
Linelength Km:435.48
Tracks:1
Electrification:25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line
Speed Km/H:160
Map Name:map_name
Map State:uncollapsed
Embedded:
Child:yes
Order:st
P:Lā lín Tiělù
Also Known As:Lalin Line
P2:Lā lín Xiàn

The Lhasa–Nyingchi railway also known as the Lalin Line, is a single-track railway across the southeast Tibet, China, linking Lhasa and Nyingchi.[1] [2] It has a length of 435.48km (270.59miles) and a designed speed of 160km (100miles) per hour. The trains have been equipped with oxygen supply equipment. There are currently nine stations in the cities of Lhasa, Shannan, and Nyingchi that can handle both passengers and freight transportation.[3]

Construction

Located in a valley between Gangdis and Himalayas in southeast Tibet, over 90% of the tracks are at an elevation of more than 3000m (10,000feet) above sea level.[4] The railway crosses the Yarlung Tsangpo River 16 times and has 47 tunnels and 121 bridges.[5] It is part of the under-construction Sichuan–Tibet railway that will connect Lhasa and Chengdu, capital of the neighboring Sichuan province.[6] Lhasa-Nyingchi railway is the first fully-electrified railway in Tibet region.[7] [8] The rolling stock is the China Railway CR200J Fuxing series powered by both electronic motors and internal combustion engines, marking the complete coverage of Fuxing series to all provincial-level regions in China.[9] The newly opened train route provides Nyingchi with access to railway services for the first time in history.[10]

History

On 4 November 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the construction of Lhasa–Nyingchi railway.[11] The Sangzhuling Tunnel started engineering works on 19 December 2014.[12] Construction began on 28 June 2015, and the track-laying work was completed by the end of 2020.[6]

On 25 June 2021, the railway began operation, with the first train leaving Lhasa for Nyingchi at 10.30 am. Compared with roads, the railway reduces the travel time from Lhasa to Nyingchi from 5 hours to 3.5 hours, and cuts the travel time from Shannan to Nyingchi from 6 hours to more than 2 hours.

Rolling stock

160 km/h services use the China Railway CR200J trainsets.[13] CR200J Plateau variant will serve the railway, and it's a type of bi-mode locomotive specifically designed for plateau operations.[14] 31 sets of train in 12 car configuration is in service. A combination of diffusion and distributed oxygen systems are installed to help alleviate altitude sickness for passengers on the trip.

Stations

English name Tibetan name Chinese name Connections Location Distance (km)
Tibetan: ལྷ་ས་ Chinese: 拉萨站 0.00
Lhasa South station Chinese: 拉萨南站
Baide station Chinese: 白德站
Xierong station Chinese: 协荣站
Changguo station Chinese: 昌果站
Gonggar station Tibetan: གོང་དཀར་་ Chinese: 贡嘎站
Jiedexiu station Chinese: 杰德秀站
Zhanang station Tibetan: གྲ་ནང་ Chinese: 扎囊站
Zhaqi station Chinese: 扎其站
Jinlu station Chinese: 金鲁站
Jiacun station Chinese: 甲村站
Tsetang station Tibetan: རྩེ་ཐང།
Mingze station Chinese: 明则站
Sangri station Tibetan: ཟངས་རི་
Baizhen station Chinese: 拜珍站
Woka station
Bayu station
Zangmu station Chinese: 藏木站
Gyaca station Tibetan: རྒྱ་ཚ་
Linda station
Redang station
Chongkang station
Nang County station Tibetan: སྣང་རྫོང་། Nyingchi
Dongga station
Remi station
Jiage station
Xiajue station
Benzhong station
Wolong station
Lilong station
Kangsha station
Zharao station
Mainling station Tibetan: སྨན་གླིང་
Xuega station
Gangga station
Zhongshaba station
Nyingchi station Tibetan: ཉིང་ཁྲི་ས་ཁུལ་ 435.48[15] [16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: China will soon open a new stretch of rail across Tibet . 27 June 2021 . The Economist . 5 June 2021.
  2. News: Liu Xinyong . Norbu Tsering . Zhai Yongguan . Bullet train debuts on new railway in Tibet . 27 June 2021 . China Xinhua News . 25 June 2021.
  3. Web site: China's $5.6 billion high-speed railroad has opened up in Tibet. Its electric bullet trains are racing 250 miles across the country. . Business Insider . 18 July 2021.
  4. News: Liu Hongming (Chinese: 刘洪明). Liu Xinyong (Chinese: 柳新勇). Zhang Zhaoji (Chinese: 张兆基). http://m.xinhuanet.com/2021-06/26/c_1127601292.htm . zh:既“高”又“快”:拉林铁路建成记 . China Xinhua News . 26 June 2021 . 28 June 2021 . zh.
  5. News: Jiao Peng (Chinese: 焦鹏). http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-06/26/c_1127601092.htm . zh:受中国速度!踏上西藏首趟复兴号列车“绿巨人” . China Xinhua News . 26 June 2021 . 28 June 2021 . zh.
  6. News: Lhasa-Nyingchi railway in Tibet to start operation Friday . 27 June 2021 . China Daily . 25 June 2021.
  7. Web site: Tibet's first bullet train line enters service . CNN . 12 July 2021.
  8. Web site: Tibet railway among new lines to open in China . international rail journal . 28 June 2021.
  9. News: Li Tong (Chinese: 李桐). https://finance.sina.com.cn/china/2021-06-26/doc-ikqcfnca3275316.shtml . zh:西藏首条电气化铁路建成通车 复兴号实现31个省份全覆盖 . sina . 26 June 2021 . 28 June 2021 . zh.
  10. News: Chen Qin (Chinese: 陈琴). Pubu Ciren (Chinese: 普布次仁). http://m.news.cctv.com/2021/06/25/ARTIG1j1WTScDM3fjqjwEdQ2210625.shtml . zh:西藏第一条电气化铁路拉林铁路今天开通 沿线车站“一站一景” . CCTV . 25 June 2021 . 28 June 2021 . zh.
  11. News: Zhang Shaohu (Chinese: 张少虎). http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/dfpd/xz/2014-11/04/content_18866087.htm . zh:拉林铁路有望年内开工:拉萨到林芝仅2小时 . China Daily . 4 November 2014 . 27 June 2021 . zh.
  12. News: Wang Jun (Chinese: 王军). http://www.xinhuanet.com/2017-04/13/c_1120805926.htm . zh:“冰火”两重天--国家重点项目川藏铁路拉林段施工现场见闻 . China Xinhua News . 13 April 2017 . 27 June 2021 . zh.
  13. Web site: China launches first bullet train in Tibet, close to Indian border . The Hindu . 25 June 2021 . PTI.
  14. News: Morant . Sue . Bridging the Sichuan-Tibet gap . International Railway Journal . August 16, 2017.
  15. Web site: 跟着复兴号上高原!西藏第一条电气化铁路6月25日开通运营. 2021-06-24.
  16. Web site: 拉林铁路山南段五座站房整体亮相. 2021-05-06. 2021-06-24. 2021-05-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210526044719/http://www.sasac.gov.cn/n2588025/n2588124/c18397951/content.html. live.