At the press conference sponsored by the Press Office of the State Council on November 7th, Fu Zhihuan, minister of Railways, gave a brief introduction on issues concerned with construction of the Qingzang Railway. Also present to answer questions from the press were: Sun Yongfu, vice minister of Railways; Zhang Guobao, vice minister of State Development Planning Commission and Wang Yuqing, deputy director of State Environmental Protection Administration.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,

It is a great pleasure to meet you here today. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to brief you on the construction of the Qingzang railway.

It is well known that the Tibet Autonomous Region is the only provincial level administrative region that has no railway in China. The Chinese Government has been very concerned about the extension of the railway to Lhasa and it is also the earnest yearning of the Tibetan people to do so for several generations. Soon after the founding of the People's Republic of China department concerned started to study the issue of building a railway into Tibet. With the concern of late senior state leaders, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Ding Xiaoping, the Xining-Golmud section of the Qingzang railway started construction in 1958, the track laying completed in 1979, and opened to traffic in 1984. Due to the economic strength at that time and the unsolved technical problems of building railway on plateau and permafrost region, the section between Golmud and Lhasa was not built. But the study on the alternatives of the railway alignment and the permafrost-engineering test has been going on all the time. After the Third Tibetan Work Symposium held by the Central Committee of the CPC in July 1994 the Ministry of Railways started an extensive selection of the alignment of the railway and compared many alternative routes following the decision of this symposium. It then proposed the building of the Qingzang railway first, considering that the opportunities for building this railway had come and the conditions were ready. The State Council approved the inception of the Qingzang railway in February 2001 and approved the start of the construction in June the same year.

The construction of this Qingzang Railway is an important decision made by the Chinese Government in the beginning of the new century and a significant measure to execute the strategy of developing the western region. The building of this railway will put in place an economic, rapid, high-capacity and all-weather transportation corridor in the Qingzang Plateau, thus changing from the very basis the backward transportation situation in the Tibet Autonomous Region. It is of great significance to promote the economic and social development of the Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province, enhance cultural exchange between the eastern and western regions and benefit all nationalities living along the line.

The Golmud-Lhasa section of the Qingzang railway measures 1142km, of which 960km of track rest on an elevation of over 4,000 m and the highest track is at 5,072m on Tanggulashan Mountain. This is a plateau railway of the highest elevation and the longest route in the world. The railway negotiates an area where the weather is cold, the air lack of oxygen, the ecology frail and the geology complicated. There are 550 km of tracks going through the permafrost area. Earthquakes, slides including landslides and mudflow are serious. Building a railway in such an environment is technically difficult and challenging in engineering. Powered by and cooperated with departments concerned, we have made in-depth studies on and provided solutions of such issues as the technology of building railways on permafrost areas, ecological environment protection, labor and health issues and medical services. And effective measures are taken thereof. Thus full preparations are made for the construction of the Qingzang railway.

Opening ceremonies of the railway were separately held in Qinghai Province and Tibet Autonomous Region at the same time on 29th June 2001. The construction period for the project is six years with a total investment of 26.2 billion yuan. It will be constructed section by section towards Lhasa. In the past four months, all staff and workers have greatly enhanced the spirit of "railroad pioneer", overcome all sorts of difficulties and been united as one in their work. They have followed the requirements of the slogan - work hard and make contribution, rely on science and technology, guarantee of health, and protect environment, strive to build a first class railway. It is expected that the task for 2001 will be completed ahead of schedule and win the first victory of the Qingzang railway construction.

Fast progress of design and construction

The First Railway Survey and Design Institute put in all their efforts and expedited their design work. Final survey of the full length of the railway has already been completed and design drawings for Golmud-Wangkun section and the permafrost engineering test section provided as required. The design work of the Kunlunshan-Tanggulashan section is going on in full swing. All construction teams act swiftly and work effectively. They are quick in going to site, making construction preparations and carrying out the construction. At present they have completed 8.8 million m3 of subgrade, 5,900 linear meters of bridges, 500m of tunnels, and 6,000 linear m of culverts. The subgrade of Golmud-Wangkun section has basically taken shape and the track-laying base at Nanshankou has already been built, thus paving the way for the start of track laying on July 1st 2002. Work on the permafrost test sections at Beiluhe River, Qingshuihe River and Tuotuohe River are progressing smoothly and the technical staff are busy with tests and studies.

Engineering quality targeted to high criteria

All engineering teams are striving to control their quality. They have regulated high quality project program, taken quality insurance measures, perfected their quality control system, carried out quality control responsibility system, strengthened engineering supervision, and enhanced quality control of full staff, full areas and full process. At the same time experienced supervisor term is prepared to strengthen the quality supervision work. The completed part of the project has all lived up to high criteria, demonstrating the requirements of high starting point, high quality and high standard.

Great attention attached to environment protection

In the construction of the railway such principles are regulated as prevention first and protection dominates, and the input of the environment protection is hereby increased by a great margin. It is required that the environment protection and railway building be designed, built and operated at the same time. All construction teams include the environment protection as a significant issue in their work program, organize their staff and workers to study laws and regulations relating to environment protection, exercise strict environment protection regulations, realize environment protection, and insist on civilized construction. So the construction impact on environment is effectively reined.

Sanitary and Health Work Secured

The construction teams insist on "the people's health is essential and sanitary and health first". They conscientiously carry out the labor and sanitation insurance requirements set for this railway and actively establish a three-level medicare system. Clinics and health centers of most first and second levels are equipped with high-pressure oxygen cabins, ambulances, and ECDs. The medical staff accounts for 6.8% of the total staff. Since the beginning of the project, patients seriously suffering from the negative plateau reaction are properly cured. At the same time all teams are going all out to improve the conditions of work and life and the staff are kept energetic and in high spirits.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF QINGZANG RAILWAY