Find.......

Custom Search

Monday, February 13, 2012

Trains to Lhasa & Tibet


Destination board on the side of the Shanghai-Lhasa train.
Above:  Destination board on the Shanghai-Lhasa train.  Photo courtesy of Mary Kitchen.
Soft class 4-berth sleeper on the train to Lhasa, Tibet
Above:  Modern & comfortable.  A soft class 4-berth sleeper on the daily Beijing-Lhasa train.  Photo courtesy of Frances Partridge
The first regular passenger trains started running over the new railway to Lhasa in Tibet on 1 July 2006.  The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the highest in the world, climbing from 2,829m above sea level at Golmud (Geermu) to 3,641m at Lhasa, much of it built on permafrost.  Its highest point is in the Tanggula Pass, at 16,640 feet (just over 5,000m) above sea level.  Because of the lack of oxygen at that altitude, all passenger coaches have extra oxygen pumped into them, and oxygen is available to passengers through tubes if they have problems.  Before the railway was built into Tibet, travellers had to take a train as far as Golmud (which the railway reached in 1984) followed by a gruelling 48 hour bus journey to Lhasa.  Now there are direct air-conditioned trains from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou & Xian to Lhasa.

Regular passenger trains to Lhasa from Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Guangzhou...

There are several trains a day to Lhasa, including a daily express from Beijing to Lhasa (a 2-night journey, 3,753km) and other trains running every second day from Xian, Shanghai & Guangzhou (formerly called Canton, near Hong Kong) to Lhasa.  These are modern air-conditioned Chinese Railways trains, with soft & hard class sleepers, soft & hard class seats & a restaurant car. Photos of the new Beijing-Lhasa train interior.  Train times & fares for these trains are shown below.

How to buy tickets...

Bookings open 10 days in advance.  In the first months of operation of the new line, tickets were reported as selling out almost as soon as bookings open, with no sign of demand diminishing.  However, it's become easier to get tickets, and you can now arrange tickets & tours through www.chinatraintickets.net or www.chinahighlights.com.  Alternatively, you can try buying tickets yourself at the station, arranging a permit separately, see how to buy tickets.

Getting a permit for Tibet...

In addition to a normal Chinese visa, foreigners require a special permit to enter Tibet, although there is talk of discontinuing this requirement in the near future, so please check.  The only way to get a permit is through a Chinese travel agency, for examplewww.chinatraintickets.net or www.chinahighlights.com who can arrange both trains and tailor-made tours.  The permit is valid to enter Tibet and reach Lhasa, though a further permit is required to travel any further.  There's a good article about Tibet permits at http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2007/02/travel_in_tibet.html.

Deluxe tourist trains to Lhasa perhaps from 2011?  www.tangulaluxurytrains.com...

Deluxe tourist trains were due to start running from Beijing to Lhasa in spring 2009, later postponed to spring 2010 because of the recession.  The launch may well be postponed again or even cancelled, certainly their website is no longer working as I write this.  The trains were to feature luxurious sleeping-cars featuring double beds, private shower & toilet, restaurant cars and lounge-observation cars.  Exact dates, times and fares will be announced later, but the Beijing-Lhasa train will run year-round, with about 75 departures a year.  The trains will be marketed as Tangula Luxury Trains, see www.tangulaluxurytrains.com for more details, if indeed their site is still working.  The trains are a joint venture between Chinese Railways (Qinghai-Tibet Rail Corporation) and a Canadian company called RailPartners.

 Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian ► Lhasa (Tibet)

DailyEvery 2 days*Every 2 days*DailyDaily
 Train number:T27T222/223T22/23T264T164
 Beijing (West)  depart:20:09  day 1
-
---
 Shanghai depart:
|
---19:52 day 1
 Guangzhou depart:
|
--12:19 day 1|
 Chongqing depart:
|
19:55 day 1-||
 Xian  depart:
|
06:51 day 2-09:45 day 210:11 day 2
 Chengdu  depart:
|
|
20:59 day 1
|
|
 Lanzhou  depart:13:04  day 213:32 day 213:32 day 216:19 day 216:53 day 2
 Xining  depart:15:52  day 216:19 day 216:19 day 219:05 day 219:50 day 2
 Golmud (Geermu) depart:01:38  day 302:03 day 302:03 day 304:41 day 305:12 day 3
 Lhasa  arrive:16:00  day 317:02 day 317:02 day 318:30 day 319:15 day 3

All trains are air-conditioned with extra oxygen available, and have soft class & hard class sleepers & seats, and restaurant car.  The soft sleepers have 4-berth compartments, complete with personal LCD televisions, occasionally showing English language movies.  Beijing metro map.  Street map of Beijing showing stations.
Guangzhou = Canton, a few hours' train ride from Hong Kong.
x = the train stops, but exact time not known.
* = runs every 2nd day, on odd dates in some months, even dates in others.  The only way to double-check which days the non-daily trains run is to look at the .pdf timetable atwww.chinatt.org/download.htm.
The Beijing-Lhasa train was speeded up from 11 January 2011 as it now uses a new bit of railway, but no longer calls at Xian.  The fare got cheaper, as the new route is shorter, at 3,753 km.

 Lhasa (Tibet) ► Xian, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing


DailyEvery 2 days*Every 2 days*DailyDaily
 Train number:
T28T224/221T24/21T266T166
 Lhasa  depart:13:45  day 113:10 day 113:10 day 1
12:05 day 1
11:25 day 1
 Golmud  (Geermu) arrive:02:48  day 101:59 day 101:59 day 101:41 day 200:31 day 2
 Xining  arrive:12:42  day 211:28 day 211:28 day 210:37 day 210:07 day 2
 Lanzhou  arrive:15:14  day 214:00 day 214:00 day 213:24 day 212:58 day 2
 Chengdu  arrive:      ||
07:57 day 3
||
 Xian  arrive:      |22:13 day 2-21:30 day 220:50 day 2
 Chongqing  arrive:      |08:36 day 3-||
 Guangzhou  arrive:      |--18:58 day 3|
 Shanghai  arrive:      |---11:15 day 3
 Beijing (West) arrive:08:06  day 3
-
---

Another train (not shown here) runs daily between Xining & Lhasa, extended to Lanzhou on alternate days.  Many other trains link Beijing, Xian, Lanzhou and Xining.  Beijing-Lhasa is 4,064 km, of which 1,110 km are over the newly-built Qinghai-Tibet railway.

 Train fares to Lhasa...

 One-way fares per person (approximate)
Hard sleeperSoft sleeper
 Beijing to Lhasa, bought at reservations office in Beijing:RMB 766 ($113)RMB 1,189 ($174)
 Beijing to Lhasa, booked in advance at www.chinatraintickets.net:$240$310
 Shanghai to Lhasa, bought at the station reservations office:RMB 845 ($125)RMB 1,314 ($198)
 Guangzhou to Lhasa, bought at the station reservations office:RMB 923 ($147)RMB 1,530 ($221)
 Chengdu to Lhasa, bought at the station:RMB 704 ($103)RMB 1,112 ($163)
 Xining to Lhasa, bought at the station:RMB 523 ($77)RMB 810 ($119)

Children under 120cm tall travel free, 120-150cm tall travel for half fare, over 150cm tall pay full fare (140cm was changed to 150cm in Dec 2008, and 110cm to 120cm in Dec 2010)
The sleeper fares shown here are for lower berths.  Upper berths (and middle berths in hard sleeper) are a fraction cheaper.

The journey by train to Lhasa....

Restaurant car, train to Lhasa.  Photo Keith Crane.Scenery from the train to Tibet.  Photo Keith Crane.
In the air-conditioned restaurant car...
Photo courtesy of Keith Crane
Scenery in Tibet, looking back at a bridge the train has just crossed... 
Photo courtesy of Keith Crane
View from the dining car, Beijing to Lhasa trainRestaurant car on the train from Beijing to Tibet.
A view from the restaurant car of the Beijing-Lhasa train.  Photo courtesy of Brett Ackroyd.In the restaurant car of the Beijing-Lhasa train. Photo courtesy of Brett Ackroyd.
Destination board on the side of the Beijing-Lhasa trainScenery from the train to Tibet
A destination board on the side of the daily Beijing-Lhasa train.  Photo courtesy of Brett Ackroyd.

Scenery in Tibet seen from the Beijing-Lhasa train.  Photo courtesy of Brett Ackroyd.


Train to Lhasa:  At the highest point.  Photo Keith Crane.
At the highest point...  Photo courtesy of Keith Crane

Traveller's reports...

Traveller Brett Ackroyd reports (spring 2010):  "I took the train from Lhasa to Beijing. It departed absolutely on time from Lhasa and arrived at Beijing’s West Station on time two nights later. During the first 36 hours or so the buffet car (where I spent most of time) served only buffet for lunch and dinner and a set breakfast menu. It seemed that once the train cleared Tibet in to China things changed and a food menu was provided.  Smoking rules also appeared to relax once the train entered China, a fact backed up by the Lonely Planet’s entry regarding the train.  As far as I could tell oxygen wasn’t pumped in to the carriages, and although there were ports at all seats and beds for an oxygen mask to be attached I never saw a mask itself. I and all other passengers had to sign a health declaration form that before boarding that confirmed we hadn't any heart conditions and related problems!"
Traveller Frances Partridge reports (Nov 2008):   "Just completed the 48 hour Lhasa to Beijing train ride. Lhasa station is awesome; very modern, very beautiful; maybe a bit of a showcase? No one seemed to mind my photographing anywhere. We left dead on time. The attendant came to my compartment and gave me the oxygen tube to attach to the outlet in case of need.  Having been in Tibet for a week already, I was fine, just coughing a lot like most Tibetans were.  There were about eight other Westerners on the train, a handful of Tibetans and lots of Chinese people.
To be honest, not the most spectacular scenery, compared to crossing Tibet, but what an engineering achievement! The highest railway in the world, much of it constructed on permafrost.  At night the inside of the carriage doors froze hard but the carriages themselves were very warm and comfortable.  Outside we were above the tree line but under the yak line.  Endless moss, frozen rivulets of old ice, yak herds and what I thought were eagles but a Tibetan told me were 'eagle's nephews'.  I booked soft class (for a nice change) but the hard sleeper was almost as good according to my companions down the train.  I had the cabin of four beds to myself all day until late in the evening when an elegant Chinese lady appeared at my door.  She looked appalled to be sharing with a foreign backpacker, especially one who had spread out all over the adjoining bunk, but soon settled in and was civil (in Chinese).  The car attendants were pleasant; the waitresses in the restaurant car were surly with a habit of whipping away the ashtray after one cigarette.  Trying to make them smile was a good, if fruitless, way to spend time.  One morning we arrived for breakfast at 9.30 am to be told that for us, breakfast was over.  Annoying when the car is full of train personnel eating their heads off.  Travel, eh?  The train stopped at stations twice a day so we could stretch our legs and have an unhindered smoke and buy snacks.  I was tempted to jump off at Xian to go see the terracotta warriors but restrained myself, as there's always next year.  We stopped at one station late at night, where it seemed that half the Chinese Army were saying goodbye to the other half.  From the hugging and sobs and photography I assumed they had finished their posting in the Tibet Autonomous Region and were heading home to Beijing.  They were very young boys and girls. On the second day trees appeared outside and farms and cows.  Suddenly I stopped coughing and could breathe much more easily.  Then into the chaos and noise of Beijing.  I am so very glad I took this train - if you get the chance, go for it!"
Traveller Keith Crane reports:   "We had great trouble finding somebody who could book me a ticket independently (we were in Guangdong province - and tried calling Beijing) as all the agents wanted to offer a fully inclusive tour for between 5,000-7,000 Yuan.  Finally we found an agent in Chengdu, www.dreams-travel.com, who could book the ticket and our Tibet pass very efficiently.  They also run the very good Wen Jun Mansion Hotel, a recommendable, cheap place to stay.  Chengdu is also the home of China's Panda research and breeding base so you can see the cuddly black and white creatures close while you wait for your train!  Chinatripadvisor was pretty slow off the mark, not knowing much more than anyone else before bookings opened.  Anyway our combined ticket (soft sleeper and Tibet pass) came to about 1,700 Yuan each in the end and off we went.  Despite reading stories of altitude sickness we suffered none - and if the train was pressurised, we found the toilet windows open throughout the journey.  The soft class accommodation is comfortable - there are western-style toilets - but the catering facilities are limited - a 44 seat dining car for a 15 carriage train! And not enough refrigeration for cold beer.!"

No comments: