The Chinese government is to build three more railway lines in Tibet as extensions of the newly-completed Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the official People's Daily said in its overseas edition Thursday.

The new lines would link the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, with Nyingchi to the east, and Xigaze to the west, while the third will link Xigaze with Yadong, a major trading town on the China-India border.

The report gave no source, but an earlier report by the China News Service quoted an official with the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The new lines would be built in 10 years, and increase Tibet's total railway length to more than 2,000 kilometers, the report said.

The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, running more than 1,100 kilometers from Gormo in neighboring Qinghai Province to Lhasa, will open on July 1.

It is believed the first railway in Tibet will greatly boost the development of Tibet and its exchanges with other Chinese regions.

(Xinhua News Agency June 29, 2006)