The Ministry of Railways approved the safety of the Golmud-Lhasa
section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway on Wednesday.
The news will be welcomed by travelers wishing to use the rail
route when trial operation starts on July 1.
According to the inspection committee, the quality of the
project has met national safety standards.
In construction, builders tried to avoid geographically
vulnerable areas. In the frozen earth regions, they placed heat
preservation planks in the bed to prevent it from sinking. Test
results show that the train speed can reach 120 kilometers per hour
in non-frozen-earth areas and 100 kilometers per hour in frozen
earth regions.
All facilities and components have passed altitude adaptability
tests and durability tests and the emergency facilities have also
received approval.
(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)