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Long-term Railway Network in Tibet

Recently, the Development and Reform Commission of the Tibet Autonomous Region announced the “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” and Medium- and Long-term Railway Network of the Tibet Autonomous Region on its official websiteAccording to the plan, in the future, the scale of the railway network in our region will be greatly expanded, the quality of the road network will be significantly improved, the coverage of the road network will be wider, the spatiotemporal distance will be effectively reduced, and the railway will be guaranteed. The role of the implementation of the national strategy for the barrier has been further enhanced in promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy and society.

Tibet Railway Line Planning 2025 2035 Tibet Railway 2025 and 2035 Plan
Planning of Tibet Railway Line by 2025 to 2035

The following are some of the highlights.

1 Planning Objectives

By 2025

The Ya’an-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the Shigatse-Palkor section of the Xinjiang -Tibet Railway, and the Bomi- Ranwu section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway have been successfully implemented. The Gra section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway has been completed, the Palkor -Hetian section of the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway, the double-track renovation of the Lhasa Nyingchi Railway, and the Kyirong Port Railway strived to start construction. The total scale of the railway in the region has reached It’s about 4,000 kilometers.

By 2035

The total scale of the railway network of the autonomous region will reached more than 5,000 kilometers, of which the double line rail will be about 1,000 kilometers, forming Lhasa as the center, covering all prefecture-level administrative regions in the area, conveniently connecting Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and other neighboring provinces and regions major land ports along the border. It covers a wide range of transportation, convenient travel and sufficient capacity. The modern railway network supports and leads the high-quality economic and social development of our region and effectively guarantees national security.

2 Medium- and long-term planning program

(1) Construction of the main channel of the “two horizontal and three vertical” railway

The “two horizontals” are 

  1. Shigatse-Lhasa-Shannan-Nyingchi-Changdu-Chengdu,
  2. Ali-Narge-Changdu.

“Three Columns” are 

  1. Hetian-Ali-Shigatse-Lhasa-Shannan-Nyingchi-Shangri-La-Lijiang,
  2. Xining-Golmud-Nakqu-Lhasa,
  3. Xining-Yushu-Qamdo.

According to the above layout, the total scale of the “two horizontal and three vertical” main corridor in Tibet is about 5,948 kilometers. It is planned to build the New-Tibet Railway (Shigatse to Palkor Two to Hotan), Yunnan-Tibet Railway (Bomi to Shangri-La), Yushu-Changdu Railway, Naqu-Changdu Railway, Naqu-Ali Railway, etc., and the existing in the region, The railway under construction jointly forms all border areas in the border crossing area, connecting all prefecture-level administrative regions internally and conveniently connecting all neighboring provinces and regions outside the outside world, and then connecting the main railway channel network across the country.

(2) Construction of an international railway corridor open to South Asia

Accelerate the construction of port railways, connect the main land ports along the border of our region, and open up international railway channels between China and South Asian countries. Relying on the construction of the New Tibet Railway, it is planned to build the Kyirong Port Railway ( Palkor Tso to Kyirong), the Dromo Port Railway (Shigatse-Dromo), the Purang Port Railway (Baga to Purang), etc., to gradually build an international corridor open to South Asia, serve the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and promote the high-quality development of border areas.

(3) Orderly expansion of road network coverage

In order to meet the needs of the region’s future economic and social development and resource development, and coordinate and promote the construction of local development railways and other branch railways in resource-rich and crowded areas, the Lhasa-Maldro Gongkar railway was completed by 2035. The long-term study and implementation of the Saga-Gerze, Shigatse to Shentsa to Bangor, Maldro Gongkar to Dingching, Even east to Tsona, Dingkay to Kangma to Chonggay, Milin to Method to Zayul, Qamdo to Jorgy and other railways, with a total scale of about 2,514 kilometers.

(4) Renovation and upgrading of existing railway channels

Combined with the planning and construction of the new railway line, it is planned to implement the electrification and transformation of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the double-track transformation of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, the double-track and electrification transformation of the Lhsa- Shigatse Railwayetc., so as to gradually realize the electrification of the main railway trunk lines in the region into a network.

(5) Building a modern comprehensive hub

Build a modern railway passenger hub in Lhasa, take Lhasa Station as the fulcrum, supplement the surrounding railway passenger stations, integrate civil aviation, highway, urban transportation and other elements, realize multi-level integration, seamless and coordinated development of comprehensive transportation, and accelerate the construction of a national comprehensive transportation hub in Lhasa. Relying on railway passenger stations, we will promote the construction of comprehensive passenger hubs in Shannan, Nyingchi, Shigatse, Qamdo, Naqu, Ali and other regions in an orderly manner to improve the level of passenger service.

Build a modern comprehensive freight hub layout with Lhasa west, Naqu and Shigatse railway logistics bases as the fulcrum, carry out the planning and research of Nyingchi railway logistics bases in due course, strengthen the capacity of railway freight facilities and equipment, vigorously develop container and cold chain logistics, research and carry out hunchback transportation on demand, and accelerate the formation and gradual improvement of railways Modern logistics system.

Relying on the main hubs and trunk lines of the road network, we will build railway special lines and other transportation lines in an orderly manner on demand, so as to realize the convenient connection between the main railway hubs and important industrial agglomeration areas, industrial and mining enterprises and logistics parks, and expand the scope of railway transportation services to meet the development needs of plateau characteristic industries. We will vigorously develop the intermodal transportation of public railway and air rail, and focus on reducing logistics costs.

3 “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” key tasks

(1) High-quality promotion of the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway

On the basis that the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has begun, we will deepen the research and refinement of the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, promote the construction of the project with high starting point, high standards and high quality, and ensure the construction of this century-Tibet railway.

(II) Fully start the construction of railway corridors along the border

We will accelerate the early work of the Xinjiang Tibet Railway and the Yunnan-Tibet Railway, start construction in due course during the “14th Five-Year Plan”, and form a parallel railway corridor connecting the border areas of Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan provinces and regions in conjunction with the existing Lari Railway and the Sichuan-Tibet Railway under construction.

1. The section from Shigaze to Palkor of the New Tibet Railway was launched in advance.

2. The section of the Xinjiang Tibet Railway is implemented to the Hotan section.

3. Accelerate the implementation of the Bomi section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway.

4. The Ranwu-Shangri-La section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway will be implemented in due course.

(3) Promote the construction of railway at border ports in an orderly manner

We will deepen the preliminary research on railway at border ports, combine the requirements of the domestic and international situation, start construction in an orderly manner on demand, and gradually open up China’s international railway corridor facing South Asia.

1. Construction of the Geelong Port Railway began.

2. Deepen the research on the East Asia Port Railway and the Plain Port Railway.

(4) Implement the expansion and transformation of existing railway channels

1. The electrification and transformation of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was implemented.

2. Promote the transformation of the Lhasa-Yingzhi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway.

4 Effect analysis

According to the plan, in the future, the scale of the railway network in our region will be greatly expanded, the quality of the road network will be significantly improved, the coverage of the road network will be wider, the spatiotemporal distance will be effectively reduced, and the role of railway in supporting the implementation of the national strategy and promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy and society will be further enhanced.

(1) The scale of the road network has expanded significantly

By the end of 2021

By the end of 2021, the railway business mileage in the region was 1,359 kilometers. The projects under construction included the Ya’an-Yingzhi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, and the new railway under construction was 540 kilometers.

“Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” construction project

The 14th Five-Year Plan plans to build the Hotan-Shigatse section of the New-Tibet Railway, the Bomi Zhiranwu section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway, the Ranwu-Shangri-La section of the Yunnan-Tibet Railway, and the Geelong Port Railway, and implement the electrification and transformation of the Laer section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway and the double-track transformation of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway. 

After the implementation of the above project, the total scale of the railway network in the region will reach about 4,104 kilometers, an increase of 202% over the current situation, and the density of the road network will reach 34.2 kilometers per 10,000 square kilometers.

Medium- and long-term planning and construction in 2035

In 2035, it was planned to build the Yushu-Changdu, Naqu-Changdu, Naqu-Ali, Yadong Port and Pulan Port Railway, and the electrification of the Lari Railway was carried out. By 2035, it is expected that all other projects that have begun except the Naqu-Ali Railway will be completed and opened to traffic. The total scale of the railway network in the region will reach about 5,198 kilometers, an increase of 282% compared with the current situation, and the density of the road network will reach 43.3 kilometers per 10,000 square kilometers.

After the implementation of all the planned projects, the total scale of the railway network in the region will reach about 6,398 kilometers, an increase of 371% over the current situation, and the density of the road network will reach 53.3 kilometers per 10,000 square kilometers.

(2) Significant improvement in the quality of the road network

After the implementation of the “14th Five-Year Plan” plan, the double-track and electrification mileage of railways in the region will reach 975 kilometers and 3,881 kilometers respectively, and the double-track rate and electrification rate will reach 23.8% and 94.6% respectively. Compared with the current situation, the double-tracking rate will increase by 23.8 percentage points and the electrification rate will increase by 62. .6 percentage points.

By 2035, the mileage of the railway double line in the region had not increased, the electrification mileage had reached about 5,198 kilometers, and the electrification rate had reached 100%. Compared with the current situation, the electrification rate had increased by 68 percentage points.

After the implementation of the medium- and long-term planning plan in 2035, the railway network in the whole region will form a general pattern of “two horizontal and three vertical” and the layout structure of the road network will be more perfect. While promoting the construction of new lines, we plan and implement existing line renovation projects to strengthen the shortcomings of existing railway technical standards and low service levels in the region. The double mileage of the railway in the region has not increased, and the electrification mileage has reached about 6,398 kilometers, and the electrification rate remains 100%.

(III) Broader coverage of the road network

After the implementation of the planning project, the scale of the road network in the whole region has increased significantly, the coverage of the road network has been significantly improved, and the level of equalization of basic public services has been significantly improved, which will better meet the needs of the people of the region for beautiful travel and the transportation of goods, and support and lead economic and social development. The coverage of the district-level administrative divisions of the railway network will be increased from 25.7% to 52.7% after the completion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” and 74.3% after the completion of the medium- and long-term planning in 2035; the coverage rate of prefecture-level administrative divisions will be increased from 71.4% to 10 after the completion of the “14th Five-Year Plan” plan. 0%; the coverage of prefectural and municipal cities will increase from 83.3% to 100% after the completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan. The only city in Lhasa, with a population of more than 200,000 in the region, has been covered by the railway network.

(4) Effective reduction of spatiotemporal distance

1. Interregional communication is fast and smooth.

After the implementation of the medium- and long-term planning project in 2035, a number of new channels to and from Tibet can be added in our region. Lhasa can be reached within 20 hours between Lhasa and the major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, about 12 hours between Chengdu, and about 15 hours between Guiyang and Kunming. 

Compared with the current situation, the spatiotemporal distance between our region and the surrounding provinces and regions has been greatly reduced, and the timeliness of external communication has been greatly improved.

2. Convenient and fast communication in the area

After the implementation of the medium- and long-term planning project in 2035, the main channel pattern of the railway in the region connects Lhasa City and Naqu City, the Xinzbet and Lari Railway connects Lhasa City, Shigatse City and Ali District, Naqu to Changdu and Naqu to Ali Railway connects Ali, Naqu City, Changdu City, Sichuan-Tibet Railway, Shannan, Nyingchi, Qamdo. Railways between the seven prefecture-level administrative regions in the region are conveniently connected. Compared with the current situation, the travel time has been reduced by more than 50%, an increase of 3 to 14 hours.

(5) Support and ensure the implementation of the national strategy

1. Railways along the border and ports will be more perfect, and the national security strategy and services will jointly build the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative.

2. Travel conditions have been greatly improved to effectively safeguard national unity.

3. Interregional railway corridors are constantly strengthened to further promote the implementation of regional coordinated development strategies.

4. The construction of the road network is advancing rapidly, which strongly supports the strategy of strengthening the transportation country.

(6) Promote regional economic and social development

1. The layout of the road network is more perfect to promote high-quality economic and social development.

2. Transportation bottlenecks have been effectively alleviated, and the service quality has been significantly improved.

3. Give full play to the advantages of railway technology and implement the concept of green development

5 The “14th Five-Year Plan” and the medium- and long term of the Tibet Autonomous Region

About the author

The Tibetan Travel website's creator, hailing from Lhasa, is a cultural enthusiast. They promote responsible tourism, connecting the world to Tibet's beauty and heritage. Awards recognize their contribution.

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