China is considering building a set of digital integration systems to better provide a scientific basis for the design, construction and maintenance of its first railroad on the Tibet Plateau in the western part of the country.

The package embraces a digital roadbed system and a numerical simulation platform, according to the research institute of the environment and engineering of frigid and arid zones under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

A digitized simulation system for frozen-earth-based roadbeds, the digital roadbed system, will help estimate the operational state of a certain roadbeds and forecast what sort of problems might occur on it provided the real geological and boundary conditions and engineering measures are available for the roadbed.     

The system will be used to verify and analyze whether the engineering and structure designs are reasonable for the Qinghai-Tibet railway that is being built and to make revisions to the designs, said Li Xin, head of the system research team and a CAS researcher.

The system is also of significance to any road construction projects in frigid zones in the future, Li Xin added.

The digital simulation platform is a geological information system for the Qinghai-Tibet railway, to be used for information inquiry, space analysis, engineering design aid and data bank service relevant to the rail project.

The Qinghai-Tibet railroad is designed to connect Xining, capital city of northwest China's Qinghai Province, with Lhasa, capital of west Tibet Autonomous Region, with a total length of 1,956 kilometers.

The section between Xining and Golmud, Qinghai, opened to traffic in 1984, and that between Golmud to Lhasa, is under construction with an estimated investment of 26 billion yuan (US$3.13billion). The second part is scheduled for completion in 2007, with all auxiliary facilities installed.

Being built on the Tibetan Plateau, which is called the roof of the world, the railroad is environmentally responsive, CAS researchers said.

But the researchers believe that construction of the railroad will help change both the economic and social landscapes in a region with harsh natural conditions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2004)