GOLMUD, Qinghai Province: The Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the world's highest, begins operation on Saturday.

The first train will leave Golmud, the second largest city of Qinghai in Northwest China, for Lhasa, in the Tibet Autonomous Region, in the morning.

The drivers for the first train have been selected from a group of 480. They are Ma Yuancai and Zhu Hongshou, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

Liu Guocheng, another driver, will be the substitute.

A view of the finished Lhasa Railway Station in Lhasa, Tibet, on June 30, 2006.  The Qinghai-Tibet Railway begins trial operations today. [Reuters]

The train leaves Golmud at about 2,800 metres above sea level, winds through the towering Tanggula Mountain Pass at 5,072 metres, and finally arrives in Lhasa at 3,650 metres.

A ceremony will be held at the Golmud Railway Station at about 9:30 am to see off the train, according to sources with the Ministry of Railways.

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