ONE of China's new trains to Tibet on the world's highest railway derailed Tuesday (Aug 29), disrupting the line for five hours and delaying thousands of passengers.

The 16-carriage train from the southwestern city of Chongqing derailed near Co Nag Lake, some 400 kilometers northeast of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region, the Beijing News said, adding that only the dining carriage came off the tracks.

China opened the 1,140-kilometer railway linking Golmud in Qinghai Province to Lhasa on July 1, saying it would help modernize the isolated region.

"Six trains were delayed along the line, affecting more than 4,000 passengers," Hong Kong's Ta Kung Pao newspaper said. Trains were running normally five hours later and no one was injured, it said.

More than 960 kilometer of the railway was built at 4,000 meters above sea level and 550 kilometer in areas of frozen earth, which researchers fear could melt as winter temperatures rise in coming decades and affect operations.

Three passenger lines are carrying tourists in pressurized cabins to Tibet from Beijing and the cities of Chongqing and Xining. Oxygen is on tap if needed.

Editor: Wing