Travel to Tibet by train becoming easier

　　BEIJING, Aug. 7 -- Taking the train to Tibet is a romantic dream many travelers have. But tickets are in such great demand, especially during the peak season, that not everyone is lucky enough to get one. To ease the pressure, the rail service has added a train making the daily run, and has updated its ticket distribution system.

　　As the peak travel season nears, many travelers dream of taking the train to Tibet. But because tickets are in such short supply, tourists often have to line up two days ahead of time. Some travel agencies have even had to abandon the itinerary as impractical.

　　The Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company added one temporary passenger train from Xining, Qinghai Province, to Tibet on July 15, 2009. (Photo: CCTV.com)

　　Zhong Shichun, from Xihai International Travel Agency, said, "There are no tour groups traveling to Tibet from the end of June to mid-July, because we cannot guarantee that we can get train tickets. "

　　To meet the demand, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company added one temporary passenger train from Xining, Qinghai Province, to Tibet on July 15. So far, there are five trains originating in or traveling through Xining to Tibet each day.

　　Li Shunping, from Qinghai-Tibet Railway Company, said, "The temporary train can accommodate nearly 800 people each day."

　　The railway company has also changed the way it operates in order to ease the pressure from the large number of travelers heading to Tibet. Because the company only has two trains equipped with oxygen apparatus suitable for plateau travel, it has divided the original route into two sections during the peak season.

　　Golmud, Qinghai Province, is the transfer station where passengers transit from an ordinary train to a high-altitude train. The ordinary train pulls up alongside the plateau train door-to-door to allow passengers to embark more easily.