Boarding the New Lhasa-Nyingchi Bullet Train

On June 25th, 2021, the first electrified railway opened in Tibet Autonomous Region, connecting Lhasa to Nyingchi. With a length of 435 km and a designed speed of 160km/h, the new railway runs with a technology that allows it to operate on both electricity and internal combustion. It goes though many bridges and over 40 tunnels.

Wang Hongyu, a 43 years-old living in Xining, Qinhai Pronvice, is a member of the maintenance division of this new section, who was previously working on the Qinghai-Tibet line. He introduces to us about his work on the new train and its specific technology. The Lhasa-Nyingchi section mainly runs on electricity. However, the double source of energy offers a second option in case of problem. The team operates daily functioning tests although the train has been running smoothly since its start. Pre-launch trials have been carried on from mid-May to the start of operations late June.

Since the technology is new to the local engineers, they needs to work together to do the maintenance work, but the team is quickly adapting to the new devices. And there is always a mechanician on board to keep it safe. However, even if Wang could do the entire repair work by himself in his previous tasks, he now needs to team up with the driver for the maintenance.

His main working environment, the train garage, has improved a lot since he started working on this section. The train garage where he previously used to work was much smaller and older. His work schedule has changed too. He now works 20 continuous days and then can enjoy 10 continuous days’ rest. This gives him the possibility to take the train back to Xining and enjoy more time with his family.

The train already smoothly transported more than 100,000 passengers in just one month of operation, which makes him feel very proud. He believes that this new section is a big step to ease local people’s life, attract more tourists and boost the local economy.

Li Baotting, a 23-year old Qinghai native in charge of ticketing at Shannan Railway Station, knows the new station very well. Shannan station, just like several other stations along the line, has been built specifically for the new railway. Having worked in higher altitude and busier stations, Li says the current work is so far less stressful than his previous ones, however, new challenges also arise. Some locals still do not know what is allowed or not to carry on the train, so he takes time to explain to them the rules so that they can gradually adapt to the transportation mode which is new to them.

So far, three trains run on the line a day, two during the day time and one in the evening. However, the number of passengers is increasing. Like his colleague Wang Hongyu, he also feels extremely proud to work on this brand-new line.

Before the launch of the new railway, the only way to reach Nyingchi from Lhasa was by road. The highway between the two cities was opened in 2018, which cut the travel time from around 8 hours to 4 to 5 hours. Now, paying 129 yuan(US$20) for a 2nd class seat, the passengers can board on the bullet train and reach Lhasa from Nyingchi in only 3 hours and 40 minutes. So far, only 3 trains run per day, but with the increasing number of passengers, more trains will be added to bring more convenience to the local people.