The Qinghai-Tibet railway, scheduled for operation on July 1,
may not roll out profits immediately but it is sure to bring
benefits to local regions.
"Strategically important to Tibet's development, this railway is
an infrastructure project for public welfare rather than for
commercial purposes," Sun Yongfu, Vice-Minister of Railways, told
China Daily.
"In initial years, it will have to strive to cut losses and to
make ends meet."
Sun is also the deputy chief of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway
Construction Leading Group under the State Council.
The railway, the first to connect the inland Tibet Autonomous
Region with the rest of China, is an "all-weather powerful route"
to facilitate economic and social development of northwestern
regions, he said.
But to ensure it runs on permafrost safely and without detriment
to the fragile plateau environment, the government needs to
continue offering policy and financial support in the years ahead,
the vice-minister said.
The official was on an inspection tour in Golmud, the second
largest city in Northwest China's Qinghai Province, as workers put
the final touches on a railway that stretches 1,110 kilometers from
the city's Nanshankou station to Lhasa. Construction started in
June 2001.
The railway joins an 814-kilometer-long track that links Golmud
to Xining, provincial capital of Qinghai, which opened in 1984.
Together with a 32-kilometer-long line that stretches from Golmud
to Nanshankou station, they form the 1,956-kilometer Qinghai-Tibet
Railway that traverses the "roof of the world."
The budget has been well controlled due to public tendering,
rational construction schemes, strengthened contract management and
investment monitoring. Total investment amounted to 33.09 billion
yuan (US$4.09 billion), or nearly 30 million yuan (US$3.7 million)
for each kilometer, according to Sun.
"You can't expect tremendous volumes of freight to be ferried
along the line in the first few years, given economic growth may
take time due to the geography and history of Tibet," the
vice-minister said.
Tourism prospects on the other hand are rosy.
"The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, although bleak and oxygen-starved,
is a mysterious magnet for many travellers," he said.
But as the central authorities have decided that the railway is
a public welfare infrastructure to buttress and balance regional
growth, hard coach tickets for passenger trains bound for Lhasa are
priced at the same rate as those running elsewhere in China, while
sleeping-carriage tickets are specially priced at low levels.
However, operational costs on the plateau are much higher, Sun
said.
For one thing, the thinness of the air could cut power by almost
half at elevations above 4,000 meters, meaning trains will have to
consume more fuel to maintain a maximum speed of 120 kilometers per
hour in non-permafrost regions, sources from the Ministry of
Railways said.
Other operation costs include spending on routine railway
maintenance, further research on permafrost, environmental
conservation and prevention of natural disasters, Sun said.
Freight fees, which may vary according to different categories,
will average 0.12 yuan (US$1.5 cents) per ton/kilometer, compared
with at least 0.4 yuan (US$5 cents) on the Qinghai-Tibet highway,
which was built half a century ago and currently conveys nearly 85
percent of cargoes to Tibet, according to Sun.
"For these reasons and to cover operation costs, the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corp will need special policies from the
State, such as tax breaks or exemptions," Sun said.
The official said he believed the railway will substantially
resolve one of the biggest bottlenecks affecting the sustainable
development of Tibet.
It will help raise the competitiveness of Tibetan products by
driving down transport costs, and in the same way, elevate the
local people's living standards by securing affordable in-bound
consumer goods.
Cement prices in Tibet, for example, range from 700 yuan (US$86)
to 900 yuan (US$111) a ton, compared with an average of 300 yuan
(US$37) elsewhere in China. The price will plummet to national
level if the cement is transported via railway instead of highway,
he said.
Earlier operation
When it starts in a few days, the world's highest railway will
have been put into operation one year ahead of schedule, evidence
that railroad authorities have confidence in the quality control of
the whole line.
In addition to addressing the nettlesome permafrost problems,
another factor contributing to earlier completion is that
construction was launched from both directions towards Tanggula
Mountain Pass and Lhasa, from Amdo Railway Station in Tibet in
2004, according to Sun.
(China Daily June 26, 2006)