XINING — A railroad switch was made on April 24 at Golmud Station to connect the Qinghai-Tibet Railway with a railway under construction from Golmud in Qinghai province to Korla city in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The railway connection will thread Qinghai's provincial capital of Xining, Korla in central Xinjiang and Lhasa, capital of Tibet autonomous region.

Starting operation in 2006, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway is the world's highest and longest railway built on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Connecting with the line, the Golmud-Korla Railway will start operation on its section in Qinghai in June.

The whole line extended to Korla is slated for opening at the end of this year, when the train trip from Golmud to Korla will be shortened from the current 26 hours to 12 hours.