From Xinhua via China Daily:
Tibet plans to start building a branch line for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway this year, which will link the region’s capital Lhasa with Xigaze (Êó•ÂñÄÂàô), a major Tibetan city some 280 kilometers to its southwest.
Jin Shixun, director of the regional development and reform commission said Sunday that the new line will be the first feeder line for the Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
Tibet ended its history without railway in July 2006 with the operation of the 1,956-km Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway has prompted a huge surge in the number of tourists to Tibet, bringing the region billions of yuan in tourism revenue.
Liu Zhijun, China’s railway minister, said on Friday that the railway had transported 1.18 million passengers and 1.16 million tons of cargo since then. [Full Text]
