Amdo (Tibet), March 23 – Though the Qinghai-Tibet railway is still under construction, the first locomotive in Tibet started running on the “Roof of the World” Tuesday, Xinhua reports.
It was launched at the Amdo county section of the Qinghai-Tibet railway and will be used to transport construction materials for the giant project, said Li Yang, a senior engineer with the China Railway Construction Corporation.
Weighing 86 tonnes, the locomotive was first dismantled and then assembled in Amdo county after being transported into Tibet in four trucks, Li said.
The railway construction site in Amdo county, at an altitude of about 4,704 metres, is one of the highest sections of the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
According to historical records, Tibet imported the first two rail cars from India in 1928 for the Dalai Lama. They were first dismantled and then carried into Tibet by mule.
This was the first successful transport of a large-sized machine into Tibet, Li said.
The Qinghai-Tibet railway originates in Xining, capital of northwest China’s Qinghai province, and ends at Lhasa, capital of Tibet, 1,956 km away.
Once completed, it will be the longest plateau railway with the highest elevation in the world.
Construction of the railway began June 29, 2001, and the entire project is expected to be complete in six years.
