(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- China State Railway Group has set up a subsidiary with CNY200 billion (USD29 billion) in registered capital in preparation to build a new track connecting Sichuan province with Tibet Autonomous Region and speed up travel between two of their biggest cities.

The central state-owned enterprise is the sole shareholder in the company and registered it in Nyingchi, Tibet, with a business scope covering engineering construction, technology research, development and transfer, technical services, rail passenger and freight transport, accommodation and catering, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Disclosure System.

The track will start in Chengdu, Sichuan, and travel 1,629 kilometers to Tibetan capital Lhasa via Ya'an, Kangding and Linzhi, among other places. It will more than halve the time it takes to travel between the terminal stations to around 13 hours, from 36.

Lu Dongfu, China Railway chairman and secretary of its Party committee, said at a conference on Jan. 2 that China would build a technology innovation center for the Sichuan-Tibet line and devise technical standards for the track.

Editor: James Boynton