Deputy General Manager Miao Xiaohua of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation was quoted recently by Xinhua news agency as saying that the Qinghai-Tibet line will become the rail hub of China’s west within the next five years. He said that construction of two branch lines – Golmud-Korla and Golmud-Dunhuang – will start within the year while three branch lines – Lhasa-Nyingchi, Golmud-Chengdu, Xining-Chengdu – will be built within the 12th five-year plan.

The 1,956km Qinghai-Tibet railway, starting from Xining, capital of Qinghai province and ending in Lhasa, capital of Tibet autonomous region, was a landmark construction project due to its high altitude and frozen soil. It went into full operation five years ago and is connected to major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Chongqing and Lanzhou.

In helping to open up these regions in the far west, the line has had a beneficial economic impact. Official statistics show that Qinghai’s GDP rose from Rmb64bn in 2006 to Rmb134bn in 2010, while that of Tibet increased from Rmb34bn to Rmb50bn.

According to officials from the State Reform and Development Commission, the line will eventually connect with rail networks in India so that China creates a new freight route to overseas markets via the Indian Ocean.

Mr Miao predicted that by 2015, the line will handle 10m passengers and 90m tons of cargo.