Sightseeing rail line in Lijiang starts test run

The first phase of the Lijiang tour train project, which links UNESCO world cultural heritage site Lijiang Old Town and national 5A scenic spot Yulong Snow Mountain, started trial operations in Lijiang city of Yunnan province on Monday, CCTV News reported.

The first phase of the project, with a length of 20.8 kilometers and a designed speed of 70 km per hour, is the first urban rail transit line in Lijiang.

The trains to run on this line are the world's first panoramic sightseeing mountain trains and will travel all the way through multiple tourist sites including Yushui Village, Dongba Valley and Ganhaizi Meadow, as well as internet famous photo spots.

Upon the line's formal operation, it will take only 20 minutes to go from the visitors' center to Yulong Snow Mountain. It can increase the scenic spot's road transport capacity and reduce emissions, helping preserve the ecological environment of the snow mountain and build Lijiang into a world-class tourism and culture city.

The first phase of the project started construction in September 2020 and the construction team has overcome many difficulties such as unfavorable geological conditions, high altitude and protection of the fragile ecological environment of the snow mountain during the construction process.

The team came up with a construction and operation plan for mountainous area sightseeing trams with independent intellectual property rights after technological research.

The tailor-made trains pioneered the use of a powered articulated bogie to run on the line, which features long slopes and a small radius of curves. The trains are especially adapted to routes with a maximum 55 permille slope and a 50-meter minimum radius of curve.

To ensure safe driving during severe weather like rain and snow, the trains are equipped with electric braking, hydraulic braking and magnetic braking systems and sanding gear.