The ministry of railways has recently announced its decision to launch the railway service from Shenyang, Liaoning province, to Lhasa on Feb, 1, 2016. It would be the time for people living in the northeast of China to take train to Tibet. The train route was expected to cover 9 provinces or around 4,000 km for one-way trip. It takes 50 hours or so to reach Lhasa and so far the train No. is known as Z4022. 

Due to the trail service, at present if passengers wanted to travel from Shenyang to Lhasa, they had to buy two tickets one from Shengyang—Beijing and another train ticket from Beijing to Lhasa. Such practice will last till March or April. Then you can buy one ticket directly from Shenyang to Lhasa. The ticket price of hard sleeper is expected to be around 900 RMB.

According to the ministry of railway, the Shenyang-Lhasa train was tailor-made run at extreme high altitude and hostile environment, and cost of building of such trains is 25%-30% higher than normal trains. Inside the carriage, two oxygen supply systems were equipped: the pervasive one just like central air conditioning and it can improve the oxygen content to over 80% of that of plain. While the other one is the oxygen mask. If the passenger still feels shortness of breath and discomfort. He or she can use the oxygen mask beside the seat.

(You can see snow-capped mountain along the railway)            

In addition, for environmental concerns, special containers are used to collect waste water and human waste. The train can run 42 hours without discharging any pollutants. Instead, all the pollutants will be transferred to designated garbage disposal places as the train stops at big train stations. The windows of cabin are also wisely made to prevent passengers from dropping litter randomly outside.

Travel Tips:

It is advisable to take Qinghai-Tibet train to Lhasa and fly back, because the gradual ascent via train ride allows travelers to better acclimatize to the high altitude, compared to flight. Meanwhile, the scenic Qinghai-Tibet train route from northeast of China all the way to Lhasa would be a great appetizer before you explore the holy Lhasa city and beyond.