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Train to Tibet Runs Dalai

Tibet by train? You bet. Tomorrow will see the first scheduled train service to Lhasa, Tibet from China. The train track was built at a cost of $4.18 billion over the past five years. It takes 48 hours for the train to make the trip from Beijing, and a ticket costs $110 each way.

Building a train track at such a high altitude was extremely tricky; at 16,400 feet, it is so high that the cabins of the train must be pressurized like an airplane. Because the route runs in areas where ice melts and re-freezes over the course of a night, much of the track is on a causeway slightly above the ground.

It's still unclear if this will cause an influx of Chinese immigrants to Tibet, which obviously is not on the best of terms with the Chinese government. Still, it adds one more to a list of great train trips like South Africa's Blue Train and the Hiram Bingham to Maccu Picchu.

[Image via RW-WPCI/Flickr]

Related Stories:
·   Sky Train to Tibet [Times of London]