Chinese President Hu Jintao hailed the completion of track-laying for Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest railway, in a letter to the builders Saturday.

Hu praised the landmark project as a major achievement in China's modernization drive, saying the railway will boost the development of the western region, step up the economic and social development of Qinghai province and Tibet Autonomous Region, improve the lives of people along the line, and strengthen solidarity of various ethnic groups.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's longest plateau railroad, stretching 1,956 kilometers from Qinghai's provincial capital Xining to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. Some 960 kilometers of its tracks are located 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 meters, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was formerly the world's most elevated track.

Tibet makes up one eighth of the Chinese territory, but inconvenient transportation has long hindered the region's economic and social development.

With the new railway, Tibet will be linked with other parts of the country by rail. The railway is expected to carry 75 percent of all the inbound cargoes into Tibet, slashing transportation costs by a big margin and boosting the local economy.

Xinhua 2005-10-15