Related Report Links

• China launches crackdown on online railway ticket touts
• Travelers can now book railway tickets online at www.shz-shrail.com.cn. From 8am to 9pm daily people can book tickets 10 days in advance and place up to two orders a day for up to 20 tickets a day. The Website will confirm the booking within an hour. Orders after 9pm will be processed the following morning. The Website will deliver the tickets COD with a charge for delivery. No group ticket services or services for students are available yet. (Shanghai Daily June 5, 2009)
• Chinese train travel – don't get steamed up - Telegraph UK
• Company puts off launch of luxury trains to Tibet
• China's railways carry 75 mln holiday passengers - Jan. 28, 2009 Xinhua
• China seeks cure for Spring Festival rail travel headache
• Rail ticket bookings go online
• Qinghai-Tibet Railway unaffected by earthquakes
  Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's most elevated railway, was not affected by the two earthquakes that hit the border of Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region early on Monday.  "Railway traffic was unaffected, even part of the railway is in the quake area," said Xu Chuanjie, an official with the Qinghai provincial earthquake administration.  The Amdo Station in Tibet's Amdo County, the nearest railway station to the quake area, reported nothing abnormal after the quakes, and a train passed on schedule at 3:02 a.m.  A 5.0-magnitude quake struck at 1:56 a.m. at the Mongolian-Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Haixi in the west of Qinghai, and another one measuring 4.0 on the Richter scale hit the same area at 5:44 a.m. No casualties or damages have been reported after the quakes. (Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2008)

179 million to travel by train during Spring Festival
Chinadaily.com.cn - Some 178.6 million passengers are expected to travel by train in the upcoming Spring Festival travel peak starting January 23, the Ministry of Railways said on Wednesday.

That figure is roughly equivalent to the population of Brazil.

Spring Festival, the lunar New Year, is the most important festival for Chinese and an occasion for family gathering, like the Thanksgiving in western countries. It falls on February 7 this year.

The travel season, dubbed as the largest annual migration in the world, runs until March 2. The train is the major means of transportation by Chinese for long-distance travel.

To cope with the increase in passenger numbers, the railway ministry will add 311 additional trains to its current capacity.

Big cities are expected to face more strains, including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, as Chinese farmers flock to find better-paying jobs.

Students are also a major force in the migration as they leave school to join their family for the reunion. To facilitate their travel, the ministry will provide them with round-trip tickets.

Beijing Railway Station Sells Tickets in English
July 6, 2007 - Foreigners will find it easier to buy train tickets in the Chinese capital now that the city's major railway station has begun to provide services in English. Beijing Railway Station in the downtown area will staff two English-language information and ticket sales windows during the 62-day summer transport period starting Sunday....

Qinghai-Tibet Railway Related News and Background Information

Lured by Luxury Tibetan Rail
Shanghai Daily June 6, 2007 - Wing On Travel Holdings Ltd, Hong Kong's second-largest travel-service company, said it will pay US$52.9 million for a stake in a luxury train operator to take advantage of rising travel demand to Tibet. The company will take 72 percent of the enlarged shares in Tangula Group Ltd, which operates luxury tourist trains from Beijing to Tibet's capital Lhasa, via Qinghai Province. It also operates services from China's capital to Lijiang, Yunnan Province, Wing On said in a statement filed with Hong Kong's stock exchange yesterday. Tangula Group is a venture set up with a Chinese state-owned rail operator that has exclusive approval to run luxury trains from Qinghai to Tibet for 16 years, Bloomberg News reported.

Qinghai-Tibet Railway - full reports

The Train Journey to Tibet, Not Just Destination

Qinghai-Tibet Train Provides Translation Service

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company has hired 16 Tibetan and English translators as many passengers come from Tibet and abroad, according to the Ministry of Railways. Every service has been equipped with one Tibetan and one English translator to create an "obstacle-free" communication environment for passengers, said the ministry.

The translators would be paid around 3,000 yuan (US$390) a month, said an official with the company. The ministry said the company would also employ language teachers to train all the attendants so that they are able to converse in both languages.

In addition, the company has established "green channels" for VIP passengers and set up sight-seeing platforms at some stations.

This year Tibet expects to host three million tourists and earn 3.4 billion yuan in tourism revenue, said Jin Shixun, director of the Development and Reform Commission of the Tibet autonomous regional government.

In the first five months alone, Tibet received a record 672,000 tourists, up 82 percent from the same period last year.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the first to link Tibet to the rest of China, runs between Xining of Qinghai province and Lhasa, capital of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. It was opened on July 1 last year. (Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2007)
 

Luxury Train to Debut on Tibet Line

Shanghai Daily December 21, 2006 - A luxury tourist train is set to debut next year on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway that opened in July, a high-ranking official of Qinghai Province has said. The train, the first of its kind on the railway, will be operated by the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company in cooperation with foreign tourist agencies, said the official who declined to be named. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company is based in Xining, capital of Qinghai in China's remote northwest. The official said the luxury train will carry the world's most advanced equipment and will rival the star-rated hotels for convenience and comfort. As well, the train will apply advanced management methods.

She also disclosed that Qinghai may end its history without an international portal entry in 2007. At that time, overseas tourists will be able to reach Qinghai directly from abroad and take the luxury train to visit the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the first to link Tibet Autonomous Region to the rest of China, opened on July 1.

Tibet has received more than 2.25 million visitors in the first 10 months of the year, an increase of 31.8 percent from a year earlier, the regional tourism bureau reported in the most recent statistics.

 1st passenger train scheduled for Saturday morning
China View, June 30, 2006  - The first passenger train on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is scheduled to set out at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday (July 1st) from Golmud City in northwest China's Qinghai Province and head for its terminal--Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, authority sources said on Friday. (Click for full report)

China Starts Pan-Asia Railway Construction
Dec. 7, 2006 - China will pour more than 50 billion yuan (US$6.3 billion) into railway construction in southwestern Yunnan Province by 2010, according to a top railway official.The massive investment will power several railway construction projects both inside the province and linking Yunnan to neighboring regions, said Minister of Railways Liu Zhijun. Yunnan now has over 2,300 kilometers of railways. As part of the country's drive to boost economic growth in western regions, the province is building and upgrading railways.

Direct Train to Link Shanghai and Tibet on Oct. 1

Xinhua, Sep. 20, 2006 - The Shanghai Railway Administration decided on Tuesday that the new Shanghai-Tibet train service would go into commercial operation on Oct. 1, China's National Day.The 4,373-kilometer journey will take 53 hours and 13 minutes with the train running on sections of the Beijing-Shanghai, Lianyungang-Lanzhou, Lanzhou-Xining and Qinghai-Tibet railways.The trains, departing every other day, will be composed of 15 carriages - two soft sleeping berth carriages, seven hard sleeping berth carriages, four hard seaters, one dining carriage and one for staff members.(Click for full report)
 

Tibet Sees Surge in Tourism Thanks to New Railway
Xinhua, Oct. 24, 2006 - Tourism grew rapidly in Tibet in the first nine months of year, thanks to a newly-opened railway and airport, local authorities said Monday. The number of visitors to Tibet reached 1.9 million in the first nine months, up 29 percent on a year earlier, a government spokesman told a news conference. Tourism revenue topped 2.03 billion yuan (US$250 million) during the period, up 24 percent, the spokesman said. (Click for full report)

East meets west with direct train to Tibet

Shanghai Daily, Sep. 4, 2006 - The first direct train between Shanghai and Lhasa is expected to run during the National Day holiday, according to the Shanghai Railway Administration. The 52-hour journey to the Tibetan capital will take passengers to Beijing, through Lianyungang in Jiangsu Province and Lanzhou in Gansu Province, then along the recently completed Qinghai-Tibet line. Bombardier high-speed trains - equipped with oxygen masks for the high-altitude Qinghai Plateau - will be used on the route. (Click for full report.)

Railways Carry 5 Mln Passengers on National Day
Xinhua News, Oct. 4, 2006 - China's railways carried a record 5.18 million passengers on October 1, the first day of the country's week-long National Day holiday, said an official with the Ministry of Railways on Tuesday. The source attributed the peak transportation to the increase of long-distance and short-distance travelers on that day. A total of 282 temporary trains were put into service on Sunday, said the ministry.On October 1 last year, the railways carried 4.55 million passengers, according to the ministry's data. Railway is the main transportation tool for Chinese travelers. The sector faces even harder tasks in catering to increasing travelers during the country's three golden week holidays, which was introduced in 1999 aiming to stimulate domestic consumption. The three week-long holidays are featured by the Spring Festival, May Day and National Day.

Holiday Season Railway Traffic to Hit New High
Xinhua news, Sep. 16, 2006 - China's railway sector has geared up to deal with heavy passenger traffic during the upcoming National Day Holiday period. 41 million people are expected to be on the move, up 2.56 million on the same period of last year. Forty-two pairs of special tourist trains and 54 pairs of provisional direct trains will provide extra services from Sept. 28 to Oct. 7 to deal with the traffic surge, spokesman Wang Yongping of the Ministry of Railways said here on Friday. (Click for full report)

China to Increase Train Speed to 200 Km Per Hour in 2007
Xinhua News, Oct. 2, 2006 - China will launch a nationwide railway speed acceleration in 2007, the 6th in nine years, with train speed reaching 200 kilometers per hour for the first time, said sources with the Ministry of Railways. Minister Liu Zhijun said China has finished the renovation of the 102-year-old Jiaoji Railway to make it allow trains to run at a speed of 200 kilometers per hour. The railway, built in 1904, stretches 380 kilometers from Ji'nan, capital of east China's Shandong province, to the province's coastal city, Qingdao.On Sept. 29, it took only one hour and 53 minutes for the first experimental train, made in China, to cover 342 kilometers on that railway, at an average speed of 181.6 kilometers per hour."The success of the experimental train on the Jiaoji Railway shows that China has managed the technology to raise train speed to 200 kilometers per hour on existing rails," said the minister. The nationwide speed raise will boost China's transport capacity, and priority should be to ensure safe operation, said Liu.

The Train Journey to Tibet, Not Just Destination

A gentle voice came from the train's loudspeaker. "Passengers who are seeing off friends and family, please leave the train and be reassured that we will take good care of your beloved. We will make sure they arrive safe and sound." The brief announcement was spoken in Chinese, English and Tibetan and was relief for me and others on board the N971 from Xining to Lhasa. I had been feeling slightly dizzy and it took me half a day to overcome this short-of-breath feeling at Golmud, which sits at about 2,800 meters above sea level. We would soon be traveling some 960 kilometers, or 84 per cent of the 1,142-kilometre trip from Golmud to Lhasa, at an elevation of above 4,000 meters. (Click for full article)
 

Qinghai-Tibet Railway to Transport 4,000 More Tourists Each Day
Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2006 - The Tibetan tourism bureau has predicted that the Qinghai-Tibet railway will transport an additional 4,000 tourists to Tibet each day after it opens on July 1. According to Liao Lisheng, head of the Tibetan tourism bureau, the number of tourists in Tibet will be increased to 5,000 to 6,000 every day after the railway opens to passengers.  Liao has calculated that at least 20,000 beds will be needed at hotels in Lhasa to meet the demand. There are 237 hotels in Lhasa, which have a total of 18,496 beds in 9,243 rooms. Six new hotels will open in Lhasa before the railway opens to provide enough accommodation, according to Liao. Tourism is the main industry in Tibet. Official statistics show that in the first quarter this year, the number of tourists to Tibet increased 1.8 percent from the same period in 2005, with 3,274 overseas tourists providing an income of US$1.81 million.

Railways Transport 42 Mln Passengers During Holiday
Xinhua News May 9, 2006 - China's railways transported a record 42 million passengers during the May "Golden Week", 4.2 million more than last year, Chinese Ministry of Railways said on Monday. The crowds of passengers exerted great pressure on the country's railway sector. According to the ministry, a total of 2,250 temporary trains were put into service during the holiday, 1,590 more than last year. It also arranged 128 special tourism trains to ease travel pressure

Maglev Railway to Link Hangzhou, Shanghai

China Daily, Mar. 6, 2006 - China is to start building its second high-speed magnetic levitation rail line at the end of this year. China currently operates the world's only commercial maglev line, which connects Shanghai's international airport to near the city's financial centre in Pudong district, a run of 30 kilometers (19 miles). The new line, linking the economic hub of Shanghai and Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, runs about 150 kilometers, said Sheng, also a NPC deputy.

Tibet Railway Offers Luxury Travel to 'Roof of the World'
Xinhua News Agency Feb. 25, 2006 - Traveling overland through snow-capped

mountains and high-land meadows to visit mysterious Tibetan Buddhist shrines on the world's highest plateau will soon no longer require the grit and resolve of an adventurous backpacker. This July the first train of the new Qinghai-Tibet railway will whisk passengers from Beijing to Lhasa in 48 scenery-filled hours. Tourists venturing to the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region from China's national capital can now get there by land in the lap of luxury. Special tourist trains will feature hotel-like services and special viewing cars for the journey to the "roof of the world." (Click for full report)
 

China launches direct bus service to Nepal
The Hindu, April 30, 2005 - China has launched its first direct bus service from the land-locked Himalayan region of Tibet to neighbouring Nepal so as to promote bilateral ties, including trade and tourism. The bus, which will link Tibet's capital, Lhasa and Nepal's capital, Kathmandu began its journey yesterday, media reports said here today. According to the Sino-Nepal agreement, the bus will be allowed to complete eight trips every month, general manager of Himalaya Passenger Transport Co., Ltd., Kong Chunfang said. A single trip will take two days, including stay at Lazi County for a night. Passengers can carry five kilograms of personal luggage and check 15 kilograms for free. (full report)

Beijing's Railways to Carry 1.9m Passengers During May Holiday

Xinhua News, May 1, 2005 - Beijing's railways are expected to carry about 1.9 million passengers during the week-long May Day holiday (May 1-7), said the municipal railway bureau. According to the bureau, passengers are mainly bound for Yantai, Qingdao, Zhangjiajie, Dalian in eastern, central and northeastern China. During the holiday, the bureau will use an additional 18 pairs of trains running on the lines from Beijing to Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Handan, Shanghai, Yantai, Zhangjiajie, Nanchang, Dalian and Harbin.

New Railway to Link Guangzhou, Zhuhai
Shenzhen Daily Mar. 29, 2005 -Guangzhou and Zhuhai would be linked by rail next year for the first time, the Guangzhou Daily reported Monday.The railway will also link other two cities in the Pearl River Delta area, Foshan and Jiangmen. The total length of the new railway will be 132 kilometers costing about 4.58 billion yuan (US$585.5 million). Construction will start this year and is expected to be finished next year. However, officials said the new railway would be used for freight trains only. Another railway for passengers is under discussion. The railway for passengers is expected to cut the travel time between the two cities from two hours to 38 minutes. Coaches and ferries are now the only means of transport between Guangzhou and Zhuhai.

Train from Shanghai to Nanjing to Be Faster

Shanghai Daily February 28, 2005 - Train trips between Shanghai and Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu Province, will be made significantly shorter this year due to a series of technical upgrades to rail lines linking the two cities. Once the improvements are completed, trains running along the line will be able to reach a top speed of 200 kilometers per hour, cutting the duration of the trip by nearly 30 minutes to one hour and 50 minutes. The upgraded rail link is expected to be put into pilot operation in June, and will start its formal services in the second half of this year.
 

Online Spring Festival Train Tickets Available
Shenzhen Daily Dec. 6, 2004 - Although the peak season of Spring Festival passenger transport is still two months away, Guangdong Railway Group has taken the lead in launching an online ticket booking service Dec.1.

Targeted at travel groups, the service will run until Dec. 15. Enterprises have to register and apply online 10 days ahead of their ticket booking. Guangdong Railway Group will evaluate the enterprises' qualification before they begin to deliver the service.

Buying train tickets during the Spring Festival period has always been a nightmare for migrant workers in Guangdong Province. They often have to wait in long queues before buying the ticket to their hometown.

In order to alleviate the pressure on buying tickets, Guangdong Railway Group has injected 8 million yuan (US$810,000) into the research and development of an online ticket booking system.

With this group booking service, individuals in Guangdong's enterprises can benefit from the tailor-made booking plan, which includes tickets from Jan. 25 to Feb. 8 departing and reaching nine railway stations such as Guangzhou, Huizhou, Shantou and Dongguan within Guangdong Province. Starting Dec. 1, group customers can log onto www.eticket.gzrail.com.cn to register and book train tickets.

Hainan-Guangdong Passenger Train Sets Off
Xinhua News, Dec. 6, 2004 - The first passenger train service between the island province of Hainan and the Chinese mainland began running on Sunday evening. The train set off from the island's capital of Haikou destined for Guangzhou, Guangdong. The journey lasts 12 hours, including 55 minutes of ferry time, and crosses the Qiongzhou Straits. A one-way ticket for a hard seater, the cheapest ticket, costs 138 yuan (US$16). (full coverage)

China to build its first high-speed railway
China Daily, Nov. 26, 2004 - China's first high-speed railway line is to be kicked off and enter full construction at this yearend. Construction projects of this railway line, which runs through eastern, central and western China, have been gradually activated. Upon completion in 2020, it will reduce the Chengdu-Shanghai traveling time to 10 hours. (full coverage...)

Rail System to Link 8 Cities in Jiangsu
China Daily Nov. 17, 2004 - A plan to link eight cities in east China's Jiangsu Province with a fast railway network is under way, sources with the Jiangsu Provincial Construction Bureau say. The network would connect Nanjing, Zhenjiang, Changzhou, Wuxi, Suzhou, Yangzhou, Taizhou and Nantong, all of which are along the Yangtze River, reported Modern Express, a Nanjing newspaper. The network would be composed of city subways and suburban trains with up to 1,460 kilometers of railways, 16 large stations and about 160 normal stations. Construction would be carried out during the 11th "Five-Year Plan" (2006-2010).

China is a railway lover's paradise
China Daily, Sep. 3, 2004 - I am a railway buff: in my childhood I played with model trains that were exact copies of their models scaled down 1:87. I had a huge collection of electric locomotives and other rolling stock. I travelled and still travel preferably by train: on the Tanzania-Zambia (Tanzam) line, after it was built by the Chinese; from Moscow to China and China to Moscow by transsib, etc.....

China to modernise rail routes
BBC News, UK, Aug. 29, 2004 - China's railways have proved unable to keep up with the needs of its booming economy, causing freight bottlenecks that have contributed to inflation. The deals went to Alstom of France, Bombardier of Canada, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan. They will upgrade five intercity lines to increase train speeds...