A rail station on the world's roof

China has started constructing the first ever train station in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the state-run China Central Television said.

The station, to be built at a cost of $ 12 million, would be the final stop on the ambitious Qinghai-Tibet railway. It would also be the world's highest and one of China's biggest-ever engineering projects.

The Lhasa train station, 4,000 meters above sea level, would be ready by 2007 to receive the first train from Xining in neighbouring Qinghai province.

Tibet is often referred to as the world's roof.

Located across the river from the famous Potala Palace, the official residence of the Dalai Lama, the station is also set to become a local landmark in the remote Himalayan region.

The 1,142-km long Qinghai-Tibet Railway from Golmud in Qinghai Province to Lhasa would reach an altitude of up to 5,070 meters at some places. Once completed, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway would also be the longest rail route on a plateau.

This would give the rail route the unique distinction of being both the highest and the longest rail route in the world, a feat once considered impossible.