China began Thursday the field survey work for the first railway linking the Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of China.

The 1118-km railway will extend from Lhasa, capital of Tibet, to this city in Qinghai Province in northwest China. It will be the highest railway in the world.

More than 960 km, or over four-fifths of the railway, will be built at an altitude of higher than 4,000 meters. And more than half of it will be laid on permafrost.

The First Survey and Design Institute under the Ministry of Railways, which is undertaking the work, held a ceremony at the Gormo Railway Station to mark the commencement of the task.

The institute has conducted three major surveys for the railway since 1955. It completed aerial surveying and drilling work last October.

Teams with different tasks began leaving for their work sites Thursday. During the peak period, more than 1,600 surveyors will work on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at the same time, according to Lin Lansheng, president of the institute.

The survey work is scheduled to be completed this October.

Date:Friday, March 02, 2001
Peopledaily