Train Travel

Oxygen Masks for the Roof Of The World Railway

As the train pulled out of Beijing’s Station you could feel the excitement among the 800 or so passengers. We were at the start of a 48-hour journey to celebrate one of China’s great engineering feats — a railway to the Roof of the World.

I installed my luggage on the bottom bunk of the six-person hard sleeper compartment, and decided to inspect the facilities. What would the toilets be like? They were shiny steel squat facilities, just like every other train in China. I had expected something a bit more special on the first train to Lhasa, which is the capital of the Himalayan region of Tibet.

Departure time was 9.30pm, so the restaurant car was not serving food, however it didn’t take long to discover that even at this late hour, beer was available if you were prepared to pay the price. There was no entertainment unless you take into account the limited recorded announcements — in Mandarin and English — about this wonderful train, Tibet and its traditions and protection of the environment. I returned to my bunk which had clean white sheets and nodded off to sleep. Sharing a tiny compartment, with no door, five other people and the eternal rattle of the breakfast trolley up and down the train to feed several hundred passengers made dozing beyond 7am impossible.

The food could not be described as anything special. Breakfast consisted of rice, pickles, a boiled egg and a preserved egg along with a chunk of sweetish bread and a box of sugary orange juice.

Looking out at the scenery as the train trundled across the plains of central China soon lost its appeal. The towns that we passed through merely offered an array of concrete blocks, chimneystacks and factory compounds.

Lunch — another tray with rice, stir-fried vegetables, a couple of chicken wings and some pork in a brown sauce — cheered up the day. But those travelling on this train were not there for the food.

Before the Government were prepared to spend a couple of billion pounds and find some very innovative engineers, the railway used to end, on the outskirts of Golmud in Qinghai province. Now, built over treacherous permafrost, the highest railroad on earth snakes its way to Lhasa. It’s a construction feat that few, even in China, believed could ever be achieved and is destined to become one of the world’s legendary train journeys.

Just before dawn, the express came to a halt in Golmud. Passengers clambered into down jackets and disembarked on to the platform. The green engine typical of all other Chinese trains, which had pulled us almost 3,000km (1,750 miles) across China, was decoupled. Then there appeared three gleaming white locomotives, built in the United States each consisting of 3,800hp. Engineers have assessed that this is the only way to generate the power necessary to pull the 16 carriages up to the high Tibetan plateau where the high altitude stretches the capacity of both man and machine.

The Golmud plains had soon disappeared. The restaurant car with its picture windows was the ideal place from which to view our progress.

Beautiful views opened up on both sides. Grassland was bordered by hills that appeared purple in the early dawn. Snow-capped peaks were visible in the distance. Our climb commenced. The locomotives pulled their carriages up the railway equivalent of hairpin bends. A backward glance at the valley highlighted how rapidly we were gaining altitude. We were observing bridges we had crossed just minutes earlier.

As oxygen was pumped through the carriages to help passengers breathe as we gained altitude, smoking was strictly forbidden. Through the window, trucks and cars were visible using the roads that for decades had been the only route from Golmud to Lhasa.

Wildlife appeared. Herd after herd of yaks. These burly beasts with fearsome horns broke away into a gentle trot as the train trundled by. Elegant gazelle grazed close to the line, increasing in number as we gained height. Rare wild asses galloped away in the distance as we neared the highest point of our journey, the Tangula Pass.

By this stage some passengers needed the additional oxygen outlets which had been fitted to each seat. Some even felt faint and nauseous as they sat with oxygen tubes clipped to their nostrils. An intake of oxygen seemed to help a little. But I found the altitude exhilarating rather than exhausting, and even managed a small tray of lunch. The waiter who delivered it pointed to the ribs and with a grin said: “Yak. That’s all we can get here.”

It is impossible to boil water at this altitude, so instead of rice, we had steamed bread rolls.

The American locomotives were so efficient that we reached Lhasa an hour before scheduled. . It was a joy to have an extra hour to spend in Lahsa. To follow the many pilgrims circling Tibet’s holy of holies, the Jokhang Temple, engendered a deep feeling of religious faith that has endured for centuries and survived appalling persecution.

All trains are now travelling at full capacity and China is urging its people to be patient and delay their trip until next year. 3,000 tourists are streaming off the trains daily. Lhasa is best visited sooner rather than later — before the flood of Chinese travellers changes this Himalayan eagles nest for ever.

Need to know

Getting there: GW Travel (0161-928 9410, www.gwtravel.co.uk) has a ten-day rail journey from Beijing to Lhasa, including the Roof of the World, leaving on September 21, 2007. From £2,995 (flights not included).

Great Rail Journeys (01904 521980, www.greatrail.com) is finalising a new 19-day escorted tour for early August 2007. In Search of Shangri-La will start in Shanghai and include the Roof of the World and a stay in Lhasa. From about £4,500, flights included.

Audley Travel (01869 276217, www.audleytravel.com) is planning a two-week group tour to Tibet, including a trip on the Lhasa Express next October. From about £2,500 (flights not included).

Useful website: www.chinatibettrain.com.