Work on the 1,629-km Sichuan-Tibet Railway will start in September, according the China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group Co., Ltd.

Upon completion of the new railway, it will take only eight hours from Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, to Lhasa, capital of Tibet.

The electrified railway will serve as a link for the Sichuan-Chongqing area, northwest Sichuan Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region, with the designed speed topping 200 km per hour.

When operational, the new railway will boost economic growth along its way such as the development of mineral and tourist resources. It will also open China's gateway to south Asia for bilateral economic and trade cooperation via land.

Now people travel from Chengdu to Lhasa by way of No. 318 National Route or via Baoji-Chengdu and Qinghai-Tibet railways, in three days by road and 45 hours by railway, respectively.

At present, Tibet's Yadong and Nylam are two important land ports connecting China and India as well as Nepal. With the construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, land passages from Central, East and South China to south Asia are expected to take shape in the future.