www.TibetanReview.net, Mar 31’08
The most luxurious train in the world, with five-star interiors, will begin plying between Beijing and Lhasa on Sep 1, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Mar 10. “Such a train can only seat 96 passengers. The fare would be about 20 times the normal price (of about 2,000 yuan or $280) and also much more than an airline ticket,” Zhu Mingrui, general manager of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corporation (QTRC), was quoted as saying.
There will be three trains plying between the two cities every eight days, with each journey taking five days, the report said.
The project to be operated as a joint venture between Rail Partners, a subsidiary of the Shanghai-based investment company of TZG Partners, and the QTRC, has attracted an investment of $52.9 million from Hong Kong’s Wing On Travel (Holdings) Limited.