Lhasa–Nyingchi railway

Overview
Other name(s)| Lalin Line
Native name| 拉林铁路
Status| Operational
Owner| China Railway
Locale| Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Termini|

* Lhasa
* Nyingchi

Stations| 34
Service
Type| Higher-speed rail
Operator(s)| China Railway Qingzang Group
Rolling stock| China Railway CR200J
History
Opened| 25 June 2021 (2021-06-25)
Technical
Line length| 435.48 km (270.59 mi)
Number of tracks| 1
Track gauge| 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification| 25 kV 50 Hz AC overhead line
Operating speed| 160 km/h (99 mph)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese| 拉林铁路
Traditional Chinese| 拉林鐵路
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Lā lín Tiělù
Lalin Line
Simplified Chinese| 拉林线
Traditional Chinese| 拉林線
| Transcriptions

Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin| Lā lín Xiàn

The Lhasa–Nyingchi railway (Chinese: 拉林铁路) also known as the Lalin Line (Chinese: 拉林线), is a single-track railway across the southeast Tibet, China, linking Lhasa and Nyingchi.[1][2] It has a length of 435.48-kilometre (270.59 mi) and a designed speed of 160-kilometre (99 mi) per hour.[3][4] The trains have been equipped with oxygen supply equipment. There are currently nine stations in the cities of Lhasa, Shannan, and Nyingchi that can handle both passengers and freight transportation.[5]

## Construction[edit]

Located in a valley between Gangdis and Himalayas in southeast Tibet, over 90% of the tracks are at an elevation of more than 3,000-metre (9,800 ft) above sea level.[6] The railway crosses the Yarlung Tsangpo River 16 times and has 47 tunnels and 121 bridges.[7] It is part of the under-construction Sichuan–Tibet railway that will connect Lhasa and Chengdu, capital of the neighboring Sichuan province.[8] Lhasa-Nyingchi railway is the first fully-electrified railway in Tibet region.[9][10] The rolling stock is the China Railway CR200J Fuxing series powered by both electronic motors and internal combustion engines, marking the complete coverage of Fuxing series to all provincial-level regions in China.[11] The newly opened train route provides Nyingchi with access to railway services for the first time in history.[12]

## History[edit]

On 4 November 2014, the National Development and Reform Commission approved the construction of Lhasa–Nyingchi railway.[13] The Sangzhuling Tunnel (桑珠岭隧道) started engineering works on 19 December 2014.[14] Construction began on 28 June 2015, and the track-laying work was completed by the end of 2020.[8]

On 25 June 2021, the railway began operation, with the first train leaving Lhasa for Nyingchi at 10.30 am. Compared with roads, 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 more than 2 hours.[2]

## Rolling stock[edit]

160 km/h services use the China Railway CR200J trainsets.[15] CR200J Plateau variant will serve the railway, and it's a type of bi-mode locomotive specifically designed for plateau operations.[16] 31 sets of train in 12 car configuration is in service. A combination of diffusion and distributed oxygen systems are installed to help alleviate altitude sickness for passengers on the trip.[10]

## Stations[edit]

English name | Tibetan name | Chinese name | Connections | Location | Distance (km)

|
|
|
|
|

Lhasa station | ལྷ་ས་ | 拉萨站 | Qinghai–Tibet railway | Doilungdêqên District | Lhasa | 0.00
Lhasa South station |  | 拉萨南站 |  |
Baide station |  | 白德站 |  | Qüxü County |
Xierong station |  | 协荣站 | Lhasa–Xigazê railway |
Changguo station |  | 昌果站 |  | Gonggar County | Shannan |
Gonggar station | གོང་དཀར་་ | 贡嘎站 |  |
Jiedexiu station |  | 杰德秀站 |  |
Zhanang station | གྲ་ནང་ | 扎囊站 |  | Zhanang County |
Zhaqi station |  | 扎其站 |  |
Jinlu station |  | 金鲁站 |  | Nêdong District |
Jiacun station |  | 甲村站 |  |
Tsetang station | རྩེ་ཐང། | 泽当站 |  |
Mingze station |  | 明则站 |  |
Sangri station | ཟངས་རི་ | 桑日站 |  | Sangri County |
Baizhen station |  | 拜珍站 |  |
Woka station |  | 沃卡站 |  |
Bayu station |  | 巴玉站 |  |
Zangmu station |  | 藏木站 |  | Gyaca County |
Gyaca station | རྒྱ་ཚ་ | 加查站 |  |
Linda station |  | 林达站 |  |
Redang station |  | 热当站 |  |
Chongkang station |  | 冲康站 |  |
Nang County station | སྣང་རྫོང་། | 朗县站 |  | Nang County | Nyingchi |
Dongga station |  | 洞嘎站 |  |
Remi station |  | 热米站 |  |
Jiage station |  | 甲格站 |  | Mainling County |
Xiajue station |  | 下觉站 |  |
Benzhong station |  | 奔中站 |  |
Wolong station |  | 卧龙站 |  |
Lilong station |  | 里龙站 |  |
Kangsha station |  | 康莎站 |  |
Zharao station |  | 扎绕站 |  |
Mainling station | སྨན་གླིང་ | 米林站 |  |
Xuega station |  | 雪嘎站 |  |
Gangga station |  | 岗嘎站 |  |
Zhongshaba station |  | 中沙坝站 |  |
Nyingchi station | ཉིང་ཁྲི་ས་ཁུལ་ | 林芝站 | Ya'an–Nyingchi segment | Bayi District | 435.48[3][4]

## See also[edit]

* Sichuan–Tibet railway

## References[edit]

1. ^ "China will soon open a new stretch of rail across Tibet". The Economist. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
2. ^ a b Liu Xinyong; Norbu Tsering; Zhai Yongguan (25 June 2021). "Bullet train debuts on new railway in Tibet". China Xinhua News. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
3. ^ a b "跟着复兴号上高原！西藏第一条电气化铁路6月25日开通运营". 2021-06-24.
4. ^ a b "拉林铁路山南段五座站房整体亮相". 2021-05-06. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
5. ^ "China's $5.6 billion high-speed railroad has opened up in Tibet. Its electric bullet trains are racing 250 miles across the country". Business Insider. 18 July 2021.
6. ^ Liu Hongming (刘洪明); Liu Xinyong (柳新勇); Zhang Zhaoji (张兆基) (26 June 2021). 既“高”又“快”：拉林铁路建成记. China Xinhua News (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 June 2021.刘洪明Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft.au=Liu+Xinyong+(柳新勇Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft.au=Zhang+Zhaoji+(张兆基Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=http://m.xinhuanet.com/2021-06/26/c_1127601292.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
7. ^ Jiao Peng (焦鹏) (26 June 2021). 受中国速度！踏上西藏首趟复兴号列车“绿巨人”. China Xinhua News (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 June 2021.焦鹏Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2021-06/26/c_1127601092.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
8. ^ a b "Lhasa-Nyingchi railway in Tibet to start operation Friday". China Daily. 25 June 2021. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
9. ^ "Tibet's first bullet train line enters service". CNN. 12 July 2021.
10. ^ a b "Tibet railway among new lines to open in China". international rail journal. 28 June 2021.
11. ^ Li Tong (李桐) (26 June 2021). 西藏首条电气化铁路建成通车 复兴号实现31个省份全覆盖. sina (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 June 2021.李桐Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=https://finance.sina.com.cn/china/2021-06-26/doc-ikqcfnca3275316.shtml&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
12. ^ Chen Qin (陈琴); Pubu Ciren (普布次仁) (25 June 2021). 西藏第一条电气化铁路拉林铁路今天开通 沿线车站“一站一景”. CCTV (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 June 2021.陈琴Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft.au=Pubu+Ciren+(普布次仁Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=http://m.news.cctv.com/2021/06/25/ARTIG1j1WTScDM3fjqjwEdQ2210625.shtml&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
13. ^ Zhang Shaohu (张少虎) (4 November 2014). 拉林铁路有望年内开工：拉萨到林芝仅2小时. China Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 June 2021.张少虎Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/dfpd/xz/2014-11/04/content_18866087.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
14. ^ Wang Jun (王军) (13 April 2017). “冰火”两重天--国家重点项目川藏铁路拉林段施工现场见闻. China Xinhua News (in Chinese). Retrieved 27 June 2021.王军Category:Articles+containing+Chinese-language+text)&rft_id=http://www.xinhuanet.com/2017-04/13/c_1120805926.htm&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Lhasa–Nyingchi+railway" class="Z3988">
15. ^ PTI (25 June 2021). "China launches first bullet train in Tibet, close to Indian border". The Hindu.
16. ^ Morant, Sue (August 16, 2017). "Bridging the Sichuan-Tibet gap". International Railway Journal.