Workers load daily necessities at Lhasa Railway Station on April 10, 2022. The materials are contributed by the people of Xizang (Tibet) Autonomous Region to support Shanghai and Jilin Province which are fighting against the COVID-19 epidemic. Photo: VCG
China will electrify the Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, the world's highest, longest and fastest plateau railway, starting in June with a total investment of 14.84 billion yuan ($2.22 billion), in a major step to improve the crucial railway's efficiency.
The project is expected to be completed within three years and the investment in the Xizang section will be 7.21 billion yuan, according to a report on local news outlet xzxw.com's official Wechat on Saturday.
The plan will enhance the transportation capacity and service quality of the railway, while lowering costs and improving safety, reliability and risk resistance, which will support China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, said the report.
The turnout replacement and signal system transformation for the section, a sub-project of the electrification, is going through the bidding process and other procedures, with construction set to start in late June.
The length of the Golmud-Lhasa section is 1,136 kilometers. Upgrading of passenger facilities in the Anduo, Naqu and Dangxiong stations will also be undertaken.
Analysts said that the transformation will play an indispensable role in the economic and social development of areas along the section of the line, as the transportation efficiency will be increased, and the transformation will help promote the development of clean energy and protect the environment of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.
Xiong Kunxin, a professor at the Minzu University of China, told the Global Times on Sunday that the project will improve the logistics system in the area and promote connections with other provinces. Economic development will also get a boost, especially for industries like tourism.
Data showed that as of the end of 2021, the Lhasa station had handled 30.97 million passenger trips and 71.19 million tons of cargo to and from Xizang since 2006, when the section was opened as the only railway transport channel connecting the region with other provinces.
Electrifying the line will make the trains more efficient, as the electric locomotives will have more traction on the Xizang Plateau than the current internal combustion locomotives, and they will reduce pollution, Zhao Jian, a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University, told the Global Times.
Graphics: GT
RELATED ARTICLES
