Extra train services added between Lhasa, Xigaze for tourists

LHASA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Two extra train services will be added between Lhasa and Xigaze of Tibet Autonomous Region from Sunday to meet tourist demand, local rail authorities said on Friday.

Z8803 will depart from Lhasa at 3:20 p.m. and Z8804 from Xigaze at 12:05 p.m. The one-way trip between the cities takes about three hours.

Currently, there is only one train shuttle daily between the two cities

The railway linking Lhasa with Xigaze is the first extension line of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, which began operations in 2006, introducing railway transportation into Tibet for the first time. The railway links Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, with Tibetan capital Lhasa.

The peak tourist season of Tibet is from May 1 to October 31. Tibet received about 67.9 million visitors between 2011 and 2015, bringing in 87.4 billion yuan (13.4 billion U.S. dollars).