Fuxing high-speed sleeper train begins service on Qinghai-Xizang Railway

(ECNS) -- A Fuxing high-speed sleeper train entered service on the Qinghai-Xizang Railway on Friday, marking the first operation of the train on the plateau railway.

Train C4381 departed Xining Station in northwest China's Qinghai Province at 9:50 a.m. and was bound for Golmud a city in the Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.

The Xining-Golmud section of the Qinghai-Xizang Railway, which spans 816.5 km, connects Xining, capital of Qinghai in the east, with Golmud, known as "China's Salt Lake City", in the west. 

Construction of the section began in September 1958, and it was officially put into operation on May 1, 1984, making it China's first plateau railway.

The C4381/C4382 sleeper train features a 460-meter-long formation of the Fuxing power-concentrated multiple unit (EMU), consisting of 18 cars with a total passenger capacity of 1,012. The full journey takes approximately five and a half hours.

The CR200J Fuxing power-concentrated sleeper EMU deployed on this route has been optimized and upgraded to cope with the complex operating environment on the plateau, including high altitude, large temperature variations and frequent sandstorms.

It features stable power, enhanced passenger comfort, ultraviolet resistance and a high safety coefficient, making it well suited for long-term operation on the plateau railway.

(By Zhang Dongfang)