The Qinghai-Tibet railway which will undergo trial operations on July 1 will not only link Tibet with other parts of China but also boost boarder trade on this plateau, local government sources said Wednesday.

According to the Trade Bureau of Tibet Autonomous Region, the newly-built railway will help step up trade with Nepal and India, and thus render Tibet as the frontier for Southern Asian economic communication.

Yadong is one of major border ports in Tibet. Although it locates 460 kilometers away southwest from the autonomous regional capital Lhasa, the government sources said that the railway with the destination in Lhasa would bring more and better goods to this region.

Yadong is 300 kilometers from Bhutan's capital city Thimbu, and 600 kilometers from Dacca, capital of Bengal. In addition to that, the connection point of a railway network in India is only dozens of kilometers from the port.

Among other border ports in Tibet as well as other provinces or autonomous regions in western region of China, Yadong is the nearest to the sea.

The 1,956-kilometer-long Qinghai-Tibet railway runs across the frozen tundra of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from Lhasa to Xining, capital of Qinghai Province.

When completed, it will be the highest and longest highlands railroad in the world and the first railway connecting the Tibet Autonomous Region with other parts of China.

The current highways linking Tibet and outside regions transport passengers and carry mainly foodstuff, wood, energy materials, industrial products, and mining items in and out Tibet.

The railway will help promote local economy and border trade in the region by stimulating more profitable sectors such as tourism, mining industry, vegetable processing and Tibetan medicine.

The preparation for July 1 trial operation of passenger train service on Qinghai-Tibet Railway is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency June 22, 2006)