Fuxing bullet train expected to run on Qinghai-Tibet Railway: media report

The Fuxing bullet train, which was independently developed by China, is expected to run on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, gmdaily.cn said on Tuesday, citing China Railway Qinghai-Tibet Group Co.

The development will follow the upgrading of the railway, as the section from Xining to Golmud in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province will be finished within this year.

The running time for this section, which is 829 kilometers long, will be cut by two hours from 6.8 hours, which will lift the transport ability. The speed of passenger trains can increase from 120-140 kilometers per hour to 160 kilometers per hour.

One of the difficulties facing this improvement is to rectify the freezing damage of the plateau railway embankment, especially the section around Qinghai Lake.

The groundwater here is relatively rich. If the roadbed is not well drained, it will cause water accumulation, brining frost heave winter, and the track will be deformed, the company said, adding that the smoothness of the track will be better after the renovation.

The renovation will also strengthen bridges and culverts, such as the Haiyan railway station, which have a new 2,000-square-meter building. At present, the main structure has been completed.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, with a length of 1,956 kilometers, began service in July 2006. It is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad and also the first railway connecting the Southwest China's Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region with other parts of China.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway ended the history of Xizang without trains. The opening of the Lhasa-Xigaze Railway in 2014 and Lhasa-Nyingchi Railway in 2021 formed the main framework of Xizang's railway network, together with the Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

As of the end of 2021, Xizang had 1,359 kilometers of railway lines in operation.

From its opening in 2006 to the end of 2022, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has transported a total of 803 million tons of goods and 265 million passengers, official data showed.

The first electrified railway in Xizang Autonomous Region opened in June 2021, linking the regional capital Lhasa with the city of Nyingchi, as Fuxing bullet trains entered official operations on the plateau region, the Xinhua News Agency reported.