CHINA: Plans to electrify the 1 136 km Golmud – Lhasa section of the Qinghai – Tibet railway have been announced by the autonomous region’s Development & Reform Commission.
Work is scheduled to start in June 2022 and take three years. The cost is estimated at 14.84bn yuan, including 7.2bn yuan for the 535 km long section in Tibet. The stations are also to be expanded.
The single track railway from Nanshankou near Golmud to Lhasa opened on July 1 2006. Trains are hauled by diesel locomotives specially built for the high altitude environment, with freight services using CSR Qishuyan DF8B-9000 locos and passenger trains using NJ2 locos built by GE Transportation with coaches from Bombardier Sifang Power.
The first electrified railway in Tibet was inaugurated in June 2021, with ceremonies in Lhasa to mark the start of operations on the 435 km Lhasa – Nyingchi section of the Sichuan – Tibet railway.
