High-speed bullet trains set to open in Tibet by July

 China's Tibet Autonomous Region is expected to start running (开通 kāitōng) bullet trains before July 1, marking the opening of high-speed train services in all (所有的 suǒyǒu de) Chinese mainland provincial-level regions, the country's railway operator said Saturday.

 

A 435-km railway link to the regional capital of Lhasa will run Fuxing trains powered (驱动 qūdòng) by both internal-combustion and electricity, Lu Dongfu, board chairman of China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. and a deputy to the National People's Congress, told Xinhua.

 

Construction (建设 jiànshè) started in 2014 on the railway connecting Lhasa with Nyingchi in eastern Tibet. It is the first electrified railroad in Tibet and is slated to begin operations in June 2021. The track-laying work was completed by the end of 2020.

 

The railway has a designed speed (设计时速 shèjì shísù) of 160 km per hour, according to its constructor Tibet Railway Construction Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Railway Group.

 

Home to the world's most developed high-speed railway network, China aims to extend the total length (长度 chángdù) in operation to around 50,000 km by 2025, up from 37,900 km by the end of 2020, Lu said on the sidelines of the country's annual legislative session.

 

The high-speed railway network will cover (覆盖 fùgài) 98 percent of cities with over 500,000 residents, he added.

 

Lu also said China has started a project to develop faster Fuxing bullet trains to consolidate the country's edge in high-speed railway.

 

The CR450 technological innovation project aims to develop new Fuxing models that are safer, greener and smarter, with higher energy efficiency, he said.

 

China's self-developed Fuxing trains now operate at a speed range (范围 fànwéi) of 160 km per hour to 350 km per hour.

 

Useful vocabulary for train travel in Chinese 必备词汇:

 

[gāotiě] 高铁 highspeed railway

[dòngchē] 动车 bullet train

[huǒchē zhàn] 火车站 railway station

[shòupiào chù] 售票处 ticket office

[chēcì] 车次 train number

[chūfā shíjiān] 出发时间 departure time

[dàodá shíjiān] 到达时间 arrival time

[chūfā zhàn] 出发站 departure station

[zhōng dào zhàn ] 终到站 arrival station

[dānchéng piào] 单程票 one-way ticket

[wǎngfǎn piào] 往返票 return ticket

[értóng piào ] 儿童票 child ticket

[chéngrén piào] 成人票 adult ticket

[tèděng zuò] 特等座 premier class seat

[yī děng zuò] 一等座 1st class seat

[èr děng zuò] 二等座 2nd class seat

[wòpù] 卧铺 berth

[jìn zhàn kǒu] 进站口 entrance

[chū zhàn kǒu] 出站口 exit

[jiǎnpiào kǒu] 检票口 ticket check

[hòuchē shì] 候车室 waiting room

[zhàntái] 站台 platform

[chēxiāng] 车厢 carriage