How do you build a railway at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres? - Episode 4

The question sounds slightly absurd, 

because when I think of railways, I think of flat country, railway stations, platforms, people with suitcases and sandwiches wrapped in paper, not the Tibetan Plateau, where even breathing can become an activity requiring a certain amount of effort. And yet, between Xining and Lhasa, one of the highest railway lines in the world crosses precisely this landscape.

The train travels across the enormous Tibetan Plateau, with around 960 kilometres of the route lying above 4,000 metres above sea level. It is almost as if someone decided to build a railway at an altitude where most European trains would never even find a station.

I had just arrived in Xining on a flight from Beijing. 

Before boarding the train, I had some good food and got some sleep. The railway station itself was an interesting place to observe, and unlike Xining Airport, it was full of people.

Episode 4 - The Train to Tibet

How do you build a railway at more than 5,000 metres above sea level?

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is one of the highest railways in the world.

Almost 550 kilometres of the line run across permafrost.

The train is specially designed for high… pic.twitter.com/xZXsTY0Qa0

— Leonard Szuszkiewicz (@Tribudragon) September 29, 2026