In late September China began construction work to extend the highest railway line in the world, which currently links Qinghai to Tibet and will soon reach Xigaze, the second largest city in the Tibet Autonomous Region (south-west China).
This 253 km extension, linking Lhasa to Xigaze, will pass through five districts and over the 90 km long Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, and take about four years to complete.

This initial extension to the line, which opened in July 2006, has a budget of 13.3 billion yuans (1.95 billion dollars) and will have a transport capacity of up to 8.3 million tonnes per year.
Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun said that it would be a key project in China’s long and medium-term railway network expansion and would speed up Tibet’s social and economic development.

(Source: Xinhua)