World’s highest plateau railway marks 20th anniversary

The Qinghai-Xizang Railway, the world's highest and longest plateau railway, will mark the 20th anniversary of its full operation on Wednesday, having transported 104 million passengers and 824 million metric tons of cargo, China State Railway Group said on Tuesday.

Stretching 1,956 kilometers from Xining, capital of Qinghai province, to Lhasa in the Xizang autonomous region, the railway began full operation on July 1, 2006, ending Xizang's history without rail service and reshaping transportation across the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau.

Over the past two decades, the railway has played a key role in improving mobility, facilitating logistics and boosting tourism in one of China's most remote and ecologically fragile regions. The number of scheduled passenger train pairs has increased from five a day in 2006 to 13 in 2026, enabling passengers to travel directly by rail from Lhasa to 14 municipalities and provincial capitals.

The railway has also better met the travel needs of farmers, herders, students and workers living along the route. Over the past 20 years, more than 4.5 million student trips to and from Xizang have been made by train, according to the company.

Freight transport has expanded significantly. The average number of daily freight trains has risen from 24 in 2006 to 136, while annual cargo volume has grown at an average rate of 5.6 percent. The railway has facilitated the transport of plateau agricultural products, Tibetan medicines and other local specialties to markets across China and overseas.

The railway is also recognized for its engineering achievements and environmental protection efforts. About 550 kilometers of the line run across permafrost, and nearly 60 kilometers of dedicated wildlife passages have been built along the route. Railway authorities said continuous monitoring and ecological restoration efforts have helped protect the migration routes of Tibetan antelopes and other wildlife.

Since the railway entered service, the rail network in Qinghai and Xizang has expanded from 2,207.8 kilometers to 4,060.1 kilometers, strengthening regional connectivity and transforming the plateau from a transportation endpoint into a more open gateway.