ETFs Versus Futures | Home | Applying Scientific Methods to Finance-Related Problems

July 6, 2006


Railway to Tibet: Miraculous or Devastating?

New train to Tibet will mean influx of Chinese commerce and culture, by Robert Marquand

For $46 any Chinese can now hop on a 15-car daily train in Beijing and be listening to wind chimes in Tibet’s capital, Lhasa, two days later. Three trains from cities around China will now surmount 16,000-foot mountain heights, traverse a world-record 240 miles of permafrost, go through the longest tunnel built on frozen earth, and disgorge an estimated 1,000-2,000 passengers daily in the heart of Shangri-La - formerly approachable only by air or bad roads.

Note: $46 will buy you a “hard seat” ticket. I’m interested in taking this train, but plan to go “soft sleeper” class, which I suspect costs a couple hundred bucks.

From James Areddy’s article in the WSJ, At 13,000 Feet High, Pens Explode, Ears Pop on Tibet Train

As soon as next year, a luxury train by RailPartners could offer an alternative at $1,000 a day, complete with king-size beds and baths. Launched by two former McKinsey & Co. consultants, Josh Brookhart and Ben Tsen, the train is designed to rival Europe’s Orient Express and will take its time, stopping at remote tourist attractions along the way.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 6th, 2006 at 7:48 am (utc+8) and is filed under China.

7 Responses to “Railway to Tibet: Miraculous or Devastating?”

  1. Tom said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 8:18 am

    This is being hailed as an engineering feat because of its innovative foundation design to deal with permaforst. It should be interesting to watch what happens to Tibet because of this. Most likely it will mean tourist attractions like casinos and massage parlors. :)

  2. Eyal said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 8:43 am

    Would be cool to take this ride. Though I suspect it will be some time till they allow foreigners on this train..

  3. C. Maoxian said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 9:30 am

    Eyal: Foreigners are allowed; why would you think they aren’t welcomed?

  4. Eyal said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 10:22 am

    From what I heard on CCTV it isn’t open to foreigners..? I may have got that wrong though :)

  5. C. Maoxian said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 11:37 am

    Eyal: I have not heard that, but maybe my listening comprehension is not as good as yours. ;-)

  6. Eyal said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 1:08 pm

    I’m sure yours is far better than mine. I had a hard time in Guangzhou getting used to listening again.

  7. C. Maoxian said:
    July 6th, 2006 at 3:48 pm

    Eyal: I don’t understand a word of Cantonese myself. ;-)

Post your opinion