CHINA ON SATURDAY OPENED THE FIRST TRAIN SERVICE TO TIBET ON THE WORLD'S HIGHEST RAILWAY, A CONTROVERSIAL ENGINEERING MARVEL MEANT TO TIE THE RESTIVE HIMALAYAN REGION TO CHINA. PRESIDENT HU JINTAO CUT A GIANT RED RIBBON AT A NATIONALLY TELEVISED CEREMONY IN THE WESTERN CITY OF GOLMUD AS THE FIRST TRAIN LEFT FOR THE TIBETAN CAPITAL OF LHASA. MUSICIANS IN CHINESE AND TIBETAN COSTUMES BANGED DRUMS AND CYMBALS AS THE TRAIN PULLED OUT, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORTED. «THIS IS A MAGNIFICENT FEAT BY THE CHINESE PEOPLE, AND ALSO A MIRACLE IN WORLD RAILWAY HISTORY,» HU TOLD AN AUDIENCE THAT INCLUDED YELLOW-HELMETED WORKERS WHO BUILT THE LINE. HE SAID IT SHOWED THAT CHINA'S PEOPLE WERE «AMBITIOUS, SELF-CONFIDENT AND CAPABLE OF STANDING AMONG THE WORLD'S ADVANCED NATIONS.» THE US$4.2 BILLION (¤3.4 BILLION) RAILWAY IS PART OF THE COMMUNIST GOVERNMENT'S EFFORTS TO DEVELOP CHINA'S POOR WEST AND BIND ITS RESTIVE ETHNIC AREAS TO THE COUNTRY'S BOOMING EAST. ITS OPENING COINCIDED WITH A MAJOR POLITICAL ANNIVERSARY _THE 85TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE RULING COMMUNIST PARTY. THE 1,140-KILOMETER (710-MILE) LINE CROSSES SOME OF THE WORLD'S MOST FORBIDDING TERRAIN, CLIMBING MOUNTAIN PASSES UP TO 5,000 METERS (16,500 FEET) HIGH AND PASSING OVER GROUND THAT IS FROZEN YEAR-ROUND. THE TRAIN'S SPECIALLY DESIGNED CARS HAVE OXYGEN SUPPLIES TO HELP PASSENGERS COPE WITH THE THIN AIR AND WINDOW FILTERS TO PROTECT THEM FROM ULTRAVIOLET RAYS. HIGH-TECH COOLING SYSTEMS ARE TO KEEP PERMAFROST UNDER THE RAILBED FROZEN AND STABLE. THE FIRST 16-CAR TRAIN LEFT GOLMUD AT 11:04 A.M. (0304 GMT) WITH 600 PASSENGERS FOR THE JOURNEY UP THE TREELESS TIBETAN PLATEAU TO LHASA. MINUTES LATER, STATE TELEVISION SHOWED A SECOND TRAIN LEAVING THE TIBETAN CAPITAL FOR GOLMUD. A THIRD TRAIN WAS DUE TO LEAVE BEIJING LATER SATURDAY FOR LHASA. LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON, THE OFFICIAL XINHUA NEWS AGENCY REPORTED THAT THE TRAIN FROM LHASA WAS CROSSING THE 5,072-METER-HIGH (16,737-FOOT-HIGH) TANGGULA PASS, WHICH THE GOVERNMENT SAYS IS THE HIGHEST POINT ON ANY RAILWAY IN THE WORLD.
