Main: A Fuxing bullet train operates on the first electrified railway line in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Friday. Photo: IC

Ahead of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), breakthroughs and achievements were debuted and exhibited to mark the journey of the Chinese railway progress under the leadership of the CPC.

On Friday, people in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region danced and sang to welcome its first electrified railway ever built in the high plateau region.

The new railway linking regional capital Lhasa with the city of Nyingchi officially began operation in Tibet. It is the first time that a Fuxing bullet train, which was independently developed by China, transports passengers in Tibet. The Fuxing bullet train series is now operating in all provincial-level regions of the Chinese mainland.

With a length of 435 kilometers and a designed speed of 160 kilometers per hour, the new railway is a single-line electrified railway. There are currently nine stations in the cities of Lhasa, Shannan, and Nyingchi that can handle passenger and freight transportation.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway first linked Tibet with the rest of China in 2006.

Compared with road transport, 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 a little more than 2 hours, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

It passes through 47 tunnels and across 121 bridges and crosses the Yarlung Zangbo River 16 times. Tunnels and bridges account for about 75 percent of the total length of the railway.

The railway's annual freight transport capacity of 10 million tons provides strong support for the flow of goods, which will promote economic development and improve people's lives.

Over the weekend, the Fuxing bullet trains welcome another breakthrough - it launched a smart journey with new models and new technologies including 5G coverage, cloud computing, and quiet carriages.

Two new models of China's "Fuxing" high-speed train have been put into operation on Friday. The new models, CR400AF-Z and CR400AF-BZ, have a design speed of 350 kilometers per hour.

They integrate the internet, cloud computing, big data, 5G, and other new technologies. Nine different intelligent operation and monitoring systems are also adopted.

Facilities on the trains are more convenient, such as intelligent lighting in toilets and smart vending machines in dining cars.

Moreover, on Saturday, China's Railway Cultural Collection and Exchange Conference was held in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. More than 30,000 collections and works showed Chinese railways construction and development achievements.

Passengers travel in the bullet train between Lhasa and Nyingchi on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Local people dance to celebrate the open of the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Tourists pose in front of a "Lei Feng" train exhibited in Zhongwei, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Saturday. Photo: cnsphoto

A driver checks signal on a new smart model of a Fuxing bullet train at Chongqingxi Railway Station on Friday. Photo: Xinhua

Global Times - Agencies