Lhasa Railway Station

Where is Lhasa Railway Station?

Lhasa Railway Station lies in Niu New Area, Doilungdeqen District, 1 kilometer to the south of the Lhasa River and 5 kilometers south west of the Potala Palace. It is the terminal station of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and also the largest railway station on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The Liuwu Bridge links central Lhasa to Lhasa railway station and the newly developed Niu New Area on the south bank of the Lhasa River. The bridge is one of the notable structures of the 1,142 kilometres (710 mi) Qinghai–Tibet Railway, the highest railway in the world. 

Features of Lhasa Railway Station

Lhasa railway terminal building has both traditional Tibetan style and modern style, decorated in the traditional red and white of Tibetan architecture. It adopted the typical Tibetan stack-up construction style. Each floor of the entrance forms the entrance head, which corresponds to the traditional Tibetan lintel and window lintel. With the sign on the roof in 6-foot-high, gold-colored Chinese characters “拉萨(Lhasa)”, it is an imposing building set against a backdrop of the hills rising behind it. The entire station is covered to protect from severe weather. The whole building is heated by solar energy, avoiding the pollution to the environment.

Facilities of Lhasa Railway Station

Ten tracks are provided in the station, eight of which for passenger trains and two for freight trains. Seven platforms serves the tracks. The station has three floors, two floors on the ground and one floor underground. Entering the central lobby on the first floor, passengers can imagine themselves entering an ancient Tibetan palace, while escalators and LED screens pull them back into modern society. On the southeast side of this floor, there is a large waiting room for passengers with soft seats. In the west side is the general waiting hall (waiting hall 1) and ticket hall. In addition to train tickets, the ticket hall also provides flight and long-distance bus tickets. On the second floor, shopping area stands in the northeast, and two or three waiting rooms are located  in the south. There are mother and baby waiting rooms, soldier waiting rooms, soft-seat waiting rooms and infirmary with oxygen supply equipment. The ground floor is for arriving passengers. In front of the terminal building is a large-scale square where tourists can take the bus or taxi.

Train Schedules

Over 10 million tourists have hopped on Tibet trains on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to visit the Holy Land, Tibet. Now tourists can take direct trains to Tibet from Beijing, Xi’an, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing,  Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Xining, Lanzhou, etc. The journey between Lhasa and Xining only take 24 hours while many other trains take about 3 days. Please check the following schedules of each train to and fro Tibet.

• Beijing – Lhasa Train
• Xian – Lahsa Train
• Shanghai – Lhasa Train
• Guangzhou – Lhasa Train
• Zhengzhou – Lhasa Train
• Chengdu – Lhasa Train
• Chongqing – Lhasa Train
• Xining – Lhasa Train
• Lanzhou – Lhasa Train
• Lhasa – Shigatse Train

Transportation of Lhasa Railway Station

Public Bus

The buses parked on the east side of the station and the long-distance bus station is on the west side. There are bus No.1, No.6, No.13, No.14 and No.30 taking you to the downtown area of Lhasa. The departure time of the bus is the same as the train arrival time. So it’s easy to get to the Lhasa downtown from Lhasa Railway Station. The ticket fare is about CNY 1. 

Get to the famous attraction by bus:

Potala Palace: Taking  Bus No. 6(get off at Chakpori Hill Farmer’s Market) or No.1(get off at Labai) and then walk there. 

Barkhor Street: Taking  Bus No. 6( get off at Lugu) and then walk there

Sera Monastery: Taking Bus No. 1 or 14 to Remuqi, and then change to bus No.16 to the Monastery.

Taxi

It takes about CNY30-40 to get to the downtown from the station by taxi. Most taxies are parking by the main road in front of the railway station square. In the peak season, you can only carpool with others, paying 15-20 yuan per person.

Car-rental

Anyhow, a car-rental service with a tour guide from a professional travel agency like us is the best option for foreign travelers. The guide will pick you up at the station and take you to your hotel. You can contact us for the shuttle transfer service.