China Provides Oxygen to High-Speed ​​Train Passengers Traveling at an Altitude of 3 Thousand Meters

China opened the first YHT line in Tibet a few weeks ago. On this line, trains have to pass through such high places that additional oxygen is required for the air breathed by the passengers in the wagons. The first Tibet YHT railway line with a length of 435 kilometers has been operating since 25 June 2021. Connecting the Tibetan Autonomous Region capital, Lhassa, to Linzhi, this line passes through a wild but admirably beautiful natural environment filled with narrow gorges and valleys among the Himalayan peaks over 8 meters high.

These high-speed trains, called Fuxing, are traveling at only 350 kilometers per hour for safety concerns, well below their normal speed of 160 kilometers per hour due to the difficult route on the said line. There are nine stations on the line, which the train connects in three and a half hours.

Thanks to the realization of this project, the full integration of Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of the country will be accelerated and the tourism sector of this region will also be developed. The government is also very active in this regard, emphasizing the perfection of the scenery on the route. For example, the Yarlung Tsangpo River valley in the south of the Tibetan plateau provides many lakes and waterfalls and a range of traditional village landscapes.

The construction of this railway line, the construction of which began six years ago, represented a real challenge to nature. More than 130 thousand workers dug 47 tunnels and built 121 bridges. All this made up about 75 percent of the total route. Meanwhile, the Zangmu Bridge, the world's widest and highest bridge, was also built.

On the other hand, the Lhassa-Linzhi line also carries the title of being the highest electric railway line in the world. 5 percent of the line, the highest point of which is a strait at an altitude of 100 meters, passes at a height of more than 90 thousand meters. At these heights, China Railway places a mechanism that feeds the passenger wagons with oxygen and fixes the oxygen ratio at a rate of 3 percent. This rate is higher than the 23,6 percent rate at sea level. In addition, the windows were equipped with an ultraviolet filter, since the reflection on the Tibetan plateau is so intense. On the other hand, there is a motorized locomotive for trains that operate on the 21 percent electric line, just in case.

Source: China International Radio