Qinghai-Tibet railway carries 6.5 mn people in 2011
January 3rd, 2012 - 5:48 pm ICT by IANSBeijing, Jan 3 (IANS) China’s Qinghai-Tibet railway, the world’s highest altitude railway, has transported over 6.5 million people in 2011, the rail company said Tuesday.
The railway connects Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, with Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. It runs at an altitude of more than 4,000 metres and about 550 km of the railway is laid on permafrost.
The passenger figure was up nine percent from 2010, Xinhua reported.
It also transported 40 million tonnes of cargo in the same period, up 8 percent year-on-year.
Tibet has seen a tourism boom after the 1,956-km railway began operations in July 2006.
A total of 8.43 million tourists visited Tibet in the first 11 months of 2011, a 27.7-percent increase from the corresponding period in the previous year.
- China begins extension of Tibet railway - Sep 27, 2010
- China plans to build world's highest airport in Tibet - Jan 12, 2010
- China inaugurates first international luxury hotel in Tibet - Nov 02, 2010
- Astronomical observatory to come up in Tibet - Apr 13, 2012
- Millions of Chinese start spring homecoming - Jan 09, 2012
- Climate change threatening Qinghai-Tibet plateau - Mar 27, 2010
- China plans to protect Tibetan cultural relics - Mar 02, 2012
- Huge traffic jam may again haunt China - Sep 06, 2010
- Tibet to spend $240 mn on roads to monasteries - Apr 08, 2012
- China opens fourth airport in Tibet - Jul 01, 2010
- All Tibet news media to be bilingual in five years: Officials - Nov 13, 2011
- China's railways carried over 1 bn passengers - Aug 08, 2011
- India keeping close watch on China's border activities - Dec 01, 2011
- China Railways carry 453 mn passengers Jan-March - Apr 08, 2012
- China's trains carried 910 mn passengers this year - Jul 11, 2011
Tags: 5 million, altitude, beijing, china, previous year, qinghai tibet railway, tibet autonomous region, tonnes, tourism boom, tourists, xinhua