Back to the train.

For someone used to the best pro-vided by the Rajdhanis and Shatabdis back home, the Tibet railway is luxury taken one leap further. Much has already been written about the Chinese engineering feat in laying tracks across the frozen tundra, making it possible for the train to reach speeds of nearly 100 kmph in the frozen earth areas and upto 20 kmph more in the non-frozen zone; one of the real attractions is the dining car with a live kitchen attached which functioned with a chef and his team of assistants churning out piping hot six-course meals to hungry passengers from early morning to late night, virtually without a break. The train is also wet, with beer flowing and the bar functioning virtually from departure time till minutes before arrival in Lhasa.

Much had also been made of the lack of oxygen as the train reached the Tanggula Pass, the highest point on the line (5,072 metres), much higher than Lhasa, which stands at 3,650 metres. Elaborate announcements had been made about the state of physical fitness required of passengers, and about the oxygen supplies which had been provided in every compartment and coach. This of course in addition to the entire train being pressurised, much like an aircraft is. But on the entire journey, there was no sign of any passenger actually suffering from major oxygen difficulties.

There are a lot of added touches - plasma TV sets in every compartment (though showing only Chinese TV and films, a bit of a drag for the train's sprinkling of foreign passengers), announcements in English and Chinese on ticker machines through-out the train on the temperature out-side as well as the time at which it would arrive at the next station. Railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav might well find it profitable to take a ride on the Qinghai-Tibet railway sometime soon, just to pick up a few tips on what to do with the network he runs back home.

Editor:Liu Fang