According to National Railway Bureau, it will invest 5.5 billion yuan in the construction of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in 2005. Up to November 25th, rail-laying mileage reached 738 kilometers with a total investment of 19.8 billion yuan.

This railway uses the new hi-tech, GSM-R (Global Standard for Mobile Communications Rail) and is the national level railway trunk line.

The construction of Qinghai-Tibet railway divided into two periods: first is from 1958 to 1984, the railway section from Xining to Golmud; second is from 2001 to 2007, the railway section from Golmud to Lhasa. Now the second period construction is under smooth progress. From Golmud to Lhasa, the railway runs more than 2040 kilometers, and is estimated with a total investment of 26.2 billion yuan before its completion in 2007.

After the completion of Qinghai-Tibet railway, it will be the longest railway on the high plateau going through the longest mileage of frozen earth.