Tourists can now expect cheaper transportation when going to Lhasa, capital city of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), with the completion of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, announced by China's Ministry of Railway.

The railway, from Xining, capital of Northwest China's Qinghai Province to Lhasa, covers a distance of 1,984 kilometres. The section from Xining to Golmud has been in use since 1984. The construction of the 1,142-kilometre new addition from Golmud to Lhasa started in July, 2001 and cost 2.6 billion yuan (around US$300 million).

The railway is scheduled to open to traffic in 2006 with plush new plateau trains. It is by far the longest plateau railway with the highest altitude in the world.

China Daily