FAQ on
Qinghai-Tibet Railway Train
Q1. Where the train will
depart from in Beijing?
A: The train will depart from at the Beijing West
Railway Station.
Q2. When the train will leave Beijing
and return from Lhasa?
A: As scheduled, the train T27 will leave
Beijing at 21:30 and arrive in Lhasa at
20:58 on the third day after 47 hours and
28 minutes' running.
The train T28 will start from Lhasa at
8:00 am. and come back to Beijing west
at 8:00 am. on the third day with a 48-hour-trip.
Q3. Where are the tickets issued?
A: Passengers can purchase tickets at the following railway
stations: Beijing West Railway Station, Lanzhou
Railway Station, Chengdu Railway Station, Xining Railway
Station and Chongqing Railway Station.
Q4. The departure and arrival time,
tickets cost and Running hours (Exchange rate USD1=RMB7.9)
| From--To |
Train No. |
Dept. Time |
Arrival Time |
Running hours |
Train Date |
Distance (km) |
Hard Seat |
Hard Sleeper (Bottom Berth) |
Soft Sleeper (Bottom Berth) |
| Beijing West-Lhasa |
T27 |
21:30 |
20:58 on the third day |
47 hours and 28 minutes' |
Every day |
4,064 |
389 yuan (US$50) |
813 yuan (US$103) |
1,262 yuan (US$160) |
| Chengdu-Lhasa |
T22/3 |
18:18 |
18:28 on the third day |
48 hours and 10 minutes. |
One of the other day |
3,360 |
331 yuan (US$42) |
712 yuan (US$91) |
1,104 yuan (US$140) |
| Chongqing-Lhasa |
T222/3 |
19:20 |
18:28 on the third day |
47 hours and 8 minutes |
One of the other day |
3,654 |
355 yuan (US$45) |
754 yuan (US$96) |
1,168 yuan (US$148) |
| Lanzhou-Lhasa |
K917 |
16:45 |
22:30 on the second day |
29 hours and 45 minutes. |
One of the other day |
2,188 |
242 yuan (US$31) |
552 yuan (US$70) |
854 yuan (US$109) |
| Xining-Lhasa |
N917 |
20:07 |
22:30 on the second day |
26 hours and 23 minutes |
One of the other day |
1,972 |
226 yuan (US$29) |
523yuan (US$67) |
810 yuan (US$103) |
Q5. How many trains will
operate in a day?
Beijing West-Lhasa- Beijing West have both a train running
from opposite directions every day. Chengdu-Lhasa-Chengdu,
Chongqing-Lhasa-Chongqing, Lanzhou-Lhasa-Lanzhou, Xining-Lhasa, Shanghai-Lhasa, Guangzhou-Lhasa
have trains running from opposite directions one of the other
day.
Q6. Can foreigners take these trains?
A: Foreigners go to Tibet need Tibet Travel Permit,
which issued by Tibet Tourism Bureau. Independent tour is
not allowed in Tibet. You should join an organized group or
have the local travel operator arranged for you.
Q7. Visas or travel documents required
to travel to Lhasa and surrounding areas in Tibet?
A: Passengers should fill in a Health Registration
Card when buying railway tickets to enter Tibet and
a permit for entering Tibet is also needed
for the foreign tourists.
Key facts about
rail on 'roof of the world'
The railway is the world's highest railway.
Some 960 kilometres of its tracks are located 4,000 metres
above sea level and the highest point is 5,072 metres,
at least 200 metres higher than the Peruvian railway in the
Andes, which was formerly the world's most elevated rail.
The railway is the world's longest on a plateau,
extending 1,956 kilometres from Qinghai's provincial capital
Xining to Lhasa in Tibet. The newly-completed Golmud-Lhasa
section zigzags 1,142 kilometres across the Kunlun and Tanggula
mountain ranges.
About 550 kilometres of the tracks run on
frozen earth, the longest in any of the world's
plateau railways.
Tanggula Railway Station, 5,068 metres
above sea level, is the highest railway station in
the world.
Fenghuoshan Tunnel, 4,905 metres above sea
level, is the world's most elevated tunnel on frozen
earth.
Kunlun Mountain Tunnel, running 1,686
metres, is the world's longest plateau tunnel
built on frozen earth.
Upon its completion, the maximum train speed
is designed to reach 100 kilometres per hour in the
frozen earth areas and 120 kilometres per
hour on non-frozen earth.
Construction of the Golmud-Lhasa section of the landmark railway
commenced on June 29, 2001.
About 29.46 billion yuan (US$3.68 billion)
has been spent on the Golmud-Lhasa section which runs 1,142
kilometres.
|