All completed projects of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway have passed separate quality checks by its construction headquarters and a panel of independent experts.
These projects with a total investment of 8 billion yuan (US$963.86 million) include the construction of Kunlunshan and Fenghuoshan Tunnels, Xueshuihe, Sanchahe and Qingshuihe Bridges, and the 500-kilometer trunk line to the north of Tanggula Range.
Lu Chunfang, director of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Construction Headquarters, said radar tests had revealed that over 90 percent of the completed rail lines were "excellent", while the rest were "up to standard".
Once in use, the lines could bear trains traveling at a maximum speed of 60 kilometers per hour, he said.
Running from Xining, capital of northwest China's Qinghai Province, to Lhasa, capital of Tibet, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, once completed, will have a total length of 1,956 km and be the longest plateau railway with the highest elevation in the world.
A group of tunnels at Yangbajain and bridges over the Lhasa River and the Qumur Bridge are still under construction.
Local constructors have successfully tackled technical obstacles posed by frozen earth and the low-oxygen environment.
Formally started on June 29, 2001, the entire project is expected to take six years to complete.
(Xinhua News Agency July 2, 2003)
