All spending for the railway project will be borne by the central authorities, Sun said. Currently, highways and air routes are the major transportation links between Tibet and the rest of China. The Qinghai-Tibet railway will span 1,118 kilometers, and start from Xining, capital of Qinghai Province, and end in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region. A 564-kilometre section of the railway will be in Qinghai and the other 554 kilometers will lie in Tibet. The railway line between Xining and Golmud, built 10 years ago, is in full operation at present.
China plans to complete the whole project in six years.