Tibet railroad shows signs of
strain By Breffni O'Rourke
China's new railway to the Tibetan
capital, Lhasa, is a remarkable engineering
achievement. Starting from Golmud in western
Qinghai province, the 1,100-kilometer line climbs
to a maximum height of more than 5,000 meters,
making it the highest railway in the world. Over
most of its length, it is above 4,000 meters.
Workers who built the line had to use
oxygen-breathing equipment, and the carriages of
the train are sealed and pressurized like an
airliner. The project took five years and cost
more than US$4 billion.
At the opening on
July 1, Chinese President Hu Jintao described the
rail link as a "miracle", and spoke of the
fulfillment of a dream. "After the struggle of the
railway construction workers and other relevant
parties, we have finally fulfilled the faith of
several
generations of Chinese
people, especially the leaders of each minority
group," Hu said.
But that dream has
collided with reality in the harsh environment of
some of the world's most daunting mountain ranges.
Barely a month after the line opened, it is
already showing signs of strain.
Railway
spokesman Wang Yongping told the media in Beijing
that the rail bed had become unstable along some
sections of the line as frozen ground thawed and
subsided. Wang added that concrete structures,
including bridges, are cracking.
Experts
say the problem is being worsened by global
warming. The permafrost has already been thinned
and is proving unable in some places to bear the
massive weight of the train, with its three
locomotives and string of carriages. Higher
temperatures are expected in the coming years, and
the problems seem likely to worsen.
In
addition to physical problems, the railway to
Lhasa continues to draw opposition from Tibetan
activists. The international Free Tibet Campaign
says the railway is not intended to benefit the
Tibetan people.
"This project is
politically motivated, as was declared by Chinese
officials and the leadership on several occasions,
and the motivation is to consolidate China's
control over Tibet," said Yael Weisz-Rind, the
London spokeswoman for the campaign. "With the
railway in full operation, China would be able to
mobilize military personnel and arms [and send
them] into Tibet, further militarizing the whole
region."
Another group, Students for a
Free Tibet, says the railway will accelerate the
colonization of the area. They fear easier access
to the remote plateau will allow more Han Chinese
settlers to be brought in.
They also worry
about further exploitation of the region's natural
resources, with most economic benefits bypassing
the Tibetan population. The students note that the
railway's $4.2 billion price tag is almost triple
the amount Beijing spent in Tibet on health care
and education between 1952 and 2000.
Weisz-Rind recalled that Beijing some
years ago formulated a development plan for
western regions, which included Tibet and was
supposed to bring investment to the region. But,
she said, the money was characteristically spent
in ways that did not benefit local people. And she
fears that the new railway has the potential to do
much more serious damage to Tibet and its culture.
"Altogether, of course, we fear that the
consequences [of the railway] would be devastating
for Tibet and Tibetans," Weisz-Rind said.
Beijing disregards such views. Officials
are already planning to extend the line some 270km
past Lhasa to Tibet's second city, Xigaze, close
to the borders of India, Nepal and Bhutan.
Copyright 2006 RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted
with the permission ofRadio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20036.
