In addition to the extremely cold weather, lack of oxygen, fragile ecology and complicated geological conditions, the frequent earthquakes, landslides, mud and rock flows require complicated techniques to be undertaken for the project, which is expected to take six years to complete and cost 26.2 billion yuan.

With its capability to handle trains and all-weather service, the railway will play an indispensable role in improving Tibet’s transportation, promote the economic and social progress of Qinghai and Tibet, and strengthen contact between China’s western and eastern regions. Since its initiation in mid 2001, construction has been going ahead smoothly.

Design and Construction of the Project

With the combined efforts of related departments, the project’s prospecting work has been completed, the design of the line in permafrost section from Golmud to Wangkun has been done, and that for the Wangkun-Tanggula section is under way. Constructors have now arrived at worksites and the project has begun in a planned and scientific way. The 147 km roadbed from Golmud to Wangkun, as well as the Nanshankou Track-laying Center, has been built, establishing a foundation for the laying of rails next year. In the meantime, experiments in four sections of permanently frozen earth have started. Work on 55 bridges and three tunnels have begun and, by the end of this year, a total investment of 770 million yuan would have been poured in.

So far, 8.8 million cubic meters of stones have been laid on the railway bed, 5,900 meters of bridges built, 6,000 meters of culverts and more than 500 meters of tunnels dug. Constructors have emphasized quality throughout the course of the project. They mapped out effective measures, set up a complete management system and deputed certain responsibilities to everyone and formed a supervisory group. With these measures taken, the quality of the project is very good.

Protection of the Ecological Environment

Owing to its special geological environment and climate conditions, the Tibetan Plateau has a very fragile ecological environment. Although the project covers a limited area when compared with the vastness of the Tibetan Plateau, an environmental protection measure, the strictest in China’s railway building history, has been carried out.

—Protection of plateau plants. The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is designed to parallel the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. The building of sidewalks, management of working sites, utilization of earth, and determination of which paths vehicles for the project can travel through have been well planned to prevent local plants from being damaged. Grassed areas of the worksite will have the grass temporarily removed and returned to the site when construction work has been completed. In the south of Tanggula Mountain, plateau plants and local grassed areas will be cultivated for the improvement of the local environment. Garbage produced in construction and by the daily life of workers will be collected and buried.

—Protection of rare and endangered animals and natural reserves. To avoid damage to nature reserves of Hoh Xil, Qumar River, Chumaerhe and Suojia rivers, the proposed railway must detour from these areas. To keep away from the Black-neck Crane Nature Reserve, a bypass will be made. In sections inhabited by wild animals, workers will build 13 land passages on slopes, 18 passages along bridges and two above the tunnels to provide convenient conditions for migrating animals to cross the railway line.

—Protection of lakes and wetlands. To avoid ecological degeneration in wetlands and avoid a shrinking of its area, planners have done much work to keep the railway away from wetlands and lakes. If this is impossible, bridges will be their second choice, rather than roads, as the former is conducive to protecting the ecology of wetlands and lakes. More culverts will be built to prevent surface water from being blocked by the railway bed and to allow it to supplement water flowing to the wetlands.

—Protection of the plateau’s frozen earth and natural landscape. To maintain the stability of frozen earth at the construction sites and to avoid damage to the natural landscape along the proposed railway, dirt will be gathered together during construction, and when the project is completed, plants will be grown there. Frozen earth on the base of the railway will be replaced with unfrozen earth, and insulation materials will be laid on the bed.

In the meantime, measures will be taken to control the discharge of polluted materials and treat polluted water. The railway stations are designed to use environment-friendly energy, including solar energy, electricity and wind energy.

—Supervision of environmental protection. People from Qinghai and Tibet environmental supervisory departments will regularly examine construction units and sites to ensure that each part of the project conforms to the requirements of environment protection.

To ensure implementation of the above-mentioned measures, 1.2 billion yuan will be put into environmental protection efforts, much higher than what has ever been put into other railway projects. Extra investment is also needed to bypass nature reserves.

Health Conditions for Constructors

The natural hardships of the Tibetan Plateau, including low air pressure, a shortage of oxygen and its cold, dry and windy weather, as well as radiation by strong sunshine, can greatly affect the health of construction workers.

To deal with this problem, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Railways have mapped out a series of stipulations and measures to protect the health of workers constructing the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Efforts have been made to introduce them to the special climate situation there, and broaden their knowledge of self-protection, disease prevention and treatment.

The 10,000 workers and staff have received health checks and training for working in chilly weather and oxygen-deprived conditions. A system to regularly supervise and report infectious diseases will be set up. Worker’s safety has been fully taken into account when selecting machines to be used in the project, and safety protection of the workforce during the project has been well managed.