Four major routes are left to vie for a new railway planned to connect Tibet to other provinces, after years of feasibility studies.

The four routes would connect Tibet by rail to Qinghai, Gansu, Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, according to Monday's People's Daily.

The feasibility studies were mainly conducted by the No 1 and No 2 reconnaissance and design institutes under the Ministry of Railways.

Each has recommended a different route.

The No 1 institute prefers building the railway from Qinghai Province which is located to the north of Tibet.

The team said the province has prepared well for extending its railways network to the territory.

A link between Xining, the capital city of Qinghai, and Golmud in the west of the province launched operation in 1984.

Future railways could be extended from Golmud down to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

The Qinghai route is also the shortest of the four proposed schemes. It would be half as long as the proposed route from Gansu to Tibet.

Investment needed for the route is estimated at up to 20 billion yuan (US$2.4 billion). The project would take seven to eight years, according to sources from the No 1 institute.

The No 2 institute favors starting from Yunnan Province which sits to the south of Tibet. The researchers argue that line would bring the most benefit to the local economy of both Yunnan and Tibet despite the difficult construction due to rough geological and climate conditions.

The Yunnan line would open up areas of temperate climate, abundant rainfall and rich natural resources which are crucial for food production and tourism development.

Tibet is the only province without a railway network.

People and goods have to go into Tibet by air, which is expensive, or by bus, which is slow.

Both institutes agree that the railway line would bring more convenient transportation for the landlocked western region which is the focus of a new development push by the State.

A rail link to Tibet is among top projects to be sponsored by the government over the next five years.

A final decision on the route is expected to be made early next March at the plenary meeting of the National People's Congress.

Deciding factors include early-stage preparation, the project's difficulty, investment and time restraints, as well as the financial capability of the province, officials said.

(China Daily 12/12/2000)