China completes railway to roof of the world
The pan-Himalayan line, not yet in operation, climbs 5,072 metres (16,640 feet) above sea level and runs across Tibet's snow-covered plateau, known as the roof of the world.
BEIJING, Oct 15 (Reuters) - China announced on Saturday the completion of the world's highest railway, a controversial line that runs to its Tibet autonomous region.
The pan-Himalayan line, not yet in operation, climbs 5,072 metres (16,640 feet) above sea level and runs across Tibet's snow-covered plateau, known as the roof of the world.
It has been criticised as an environmental and cultural threat to Tibet and is itself threatened by rising temperatures that could one day melt the frozen ground beneath it.
The official Xinhua news agency said $3 billion had so far been spent on the challenging 1,142-km (710-mile) final section whose construction across mountain ranges began four years ago.
"About 550 km of the tracks run on frozen earth, the longest in any of the world's plateau railways," Xinhua said.
Other engineering feats included boring tunnels through ice as construction crews breathed bottled oxygen.
But even bigger challenges may lie ahead. The National Climate Centre said in June that rising temperatures would affect operation of the railway by 2050.
China says the line will promote the development of impoverished Tibet.
Critics say it will speed up migration from elsewhere in China and dilute Tibetan culture. Its construction has also been criticised for damaging the plateau's fragile environment.
And investment in the line has come at the expense of reducing bottlenecks elsewhere in China's overburdened railway network, which is struggling to move commodities demanded by the rapidly growing economy, from grain to coal.
Construction of the first phase started in 1958, eight years after the Communist Party sent troops into Tibet to impose its rule. A year later, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and he has lived there ever since.
The line links the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, with the northwestern province of Qinghai. Although it is complete, Xinhua said test runs would not begin until next July.
The railway that was previously the world's highest is in the Andes in Peru.
The pan-Himalayan line, not yet in operation, climbs 5,072 metres (16,640 feet) above sea level and runs across Tibet's snow-covered plateau, known as the roof of the world.
It has been criticised as an environmental and cultural threat to Tibet and is itself threatened by rising temperatures that could one day melt the frozen ground beneath it.
The official Xinhua news agency said $3 billion had so far been spent on the challenging 1,142-km (710-mile) final section whose construction across mountain ranges began four years ago.
"About 550 km of the tracks run on frozen earth, the longest in any of the world's plateau railways," Xinhua said.
Other engineering feats included boring tunnels through ice as construction crews breathed bottled oxygen.
But even bigger challenges may lie ahead. The National Climate Centre said in June that rising temperatures would affect operation of the railway by 2050.
China says the line will promote the development of impoverished Tibet.
Critics say it will speed up migration from elsewhere in China and dilute Tibetan culture. Its construction has also been criticised for damaging the plateau's fragile environment.
And investment in the line has come at the expense of reducing bottlenecks elsewhere in China's overburdened railway network, which is struggling to move commodities demanded by the rapidly growing economy, from grain to coal.
Construction of the first phase started in 1958, eight years after the Communist Party sent troops into Tibet to impose its rule. A year later, Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, fled to India after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and he has lived there ever since.
The line links the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, with the northwestern province of Qinghai. Although it is complete, Xinhua said test runs would not begin until next July.
The railway that was previously the world's highest is in the Andes in Peru.
