Top ten world’s records made by Qinghai-Tibet Railway

1. The highest railway in the world

960 kilometers of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway lies at 4,000 meters above sea level. It is the highest in the world at present. Its highest point is 5,072 meters, at least 200 meters higher than the former world’s highest railway, the Peruvian railway in the Andes.

2. The first railway to Tibet

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway ended Tibet’s history without a railway and became the first railway to Tibet. It links Tibet with mainland China and connects Tibetan people with the outside world.   

3. The longest plateau railroad in the world  

The total length of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is 1,956 kilometers from Xining to Lhasa. 1,142 kilometers of it perches at an average altitude of 4,000 meter, across the Kunlun and Tanggula mountain ranges.

4. The longest track on frozen earth in the world

550 kilometers of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway was built on frozen earth. It is longer than any other plateau railways in the world.  

5. The highest railway station in the world

The highest point of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is Tangula Pass at 5,072 meters near which Tanggula Railway Station is located at 5,068 meters above sea level. It is the highest train station on the earth.  

6. The highest railway tunnel in the world  

The Fenghuoshan Tunnel of Qinghai-Tibet Railway built at 4,905 meters above sea level, is the most elevated on frozen earth in the world.

7. The longest plateau tunnel in the world

The Kunlun Mountain Tunnel of the railway with a total length of 1,686 meters is the world's longest plateau tunnel built on frozen earth.  

8. The longest plateau railway bridge in the world

With a total length of 11.7 kilometers, the Qingshui River Bridge, at an altitude of 4500 meters in the Hoh Xil unpopulated area, is noted as the longest plateau railway bridge in the world.

9. The fastest train on frozen earth in the world

The maximum speed of the train to Tibet is designed to reach 100 kilometers per hour in frozen earth areas, and 120 kilometers per hour on non-frozen earth.

10. No worker died of altitude sickness  

Around 100,000 engineers and construction workers were involved in the construction of the railway, and 10% of them were from local ethnic groups. None of the workers died of altitude sickness during the construction.

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