Sichuan-Tibet railway, 1,838km long, starts in Chengdu, Sichuan province and ends in Lhasa, passing by Yan’an, Kangding and Nyingchi as well. As the second railway connecting Tibet with the rest of the country, Sichuan-Tibet railway will operate in 2025 and cost about 216 billion yuan ($32 billion).
The train will travel at 200 km/h and the new line will reduce the travel time from Chengdu to Lhasa to about 13 hours. Currently, it takes about 42 hours by train and 3-4 days by car ride for a journey of Chengdu-Lhasa.
The new line will travel through the most complicated geographical area in the world. Perched at more than 3,000 meters above sea level, and with more than 74 percent of its length running on bridges or in tunnels, the railway will meander through the mountains, and the highest of that is over 7,000 meters.