Located at a close distance to Lhasa, Chengdu is hot and popular gateway city from which taking the Qinghai-Tibet train to Lhasa. Besides, before you go to train ticket window to collect your train ticket, you need prepare a colorful copy of your Tibet Travel Permit.
Traveling from Chengdu to Lhasa by train is a great rail journey. The Tibet train climbs up to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gradually. The railway distance from Chengdu to Lhasa is about 3360 kilometers and the duration is about 36 hours 18 minutes. When Sichuan-Tibet Railway opens in the future, the Tibet train only run about 12 hours from Chengdu to Lhasa.
There is only one train from Chengdu to Lhasa each other day, and the train journey lasts about three days. Here is the latest train’s information from Chengdu to Lhasa.
Timetable and Schedule of Chengdu to Lhasa Train
Train Z322 runs from Chengdu to Lhasa. The starting station is Chengdu Railway Station (Chengdu North Train Station) and the ending station is Lhasa Railway Station. If you want to go to Tibet from Chengdu by train, you need take a train at least 2 days before your Tibet tour.
Notes: the train name Z322 is changed to Z323 from Xuzhou Railway Station. It starts from Chengdu every other day.
| Station | Altitude | Arrival | Departure | Stop Time | Days | Distance |
| Chengdu | 500 m | — | 21:37 | — | Day 1 | — |
| Guangyuan | 385 m | 02:23 | 02:40 | 17 min | Day 2 | 3,19 km |
| Lanzhou | 1,520 m | 09:11 | 09:29 | 18 min | Day 2 | 1,172 km |
| Xining | 2,200 m | 12:06 | 12:26 | 20 min | Day 2 | 1,270 km |
| Delingha | 2,982 m | 16:31 | 16:33 | 2 min | Day 2 | 1,587 km |
| Golmud | 2,780 m | 19:17 | 19:42 | 25 min | Day 2 | 2,100 km |
| Nagchu | 4,500 m | 06:05 | 06:11 | 6 min | Day 3 | 2,920 km |
| Lhasa | 3,650 m | 09:55 | — | — | Day 3 | 3,360 km |
Timetable and Schedule of Lhasa to Chengdu Train
Train Z324 runs from Lhasa to Chengdu. The starting station is Lhasa Railway Station and the ending station Chengdu Railway Station.
| Station | Altitude | Arrival | Departure | Stop Time | Days | Distance |
| Lhasa | 3,650 m | — | 18:40 | — | Day 1 | — |
| Nagchu | 4,500 m | 21:59 | 22:05 | 6 min | Day 1 | 322 km |
| Golmud | 2,780 m | 08:45 | 09:10 | 25 min | Day 2 | 1,142 km |
| Delingha | 2,982 m | 11:37 | 11:41 | 4 min | Day 2 | 1,478 km |
| Xining | 2,200 m | 16:30 | 16:50 | 20 min | Day 2 | 1,972 km |
| Lanzhou | 1,520 m | 19:33 | 19:48 | 15 min | Day 2 | 2,188 km |
| Guangyuan | 1100 m | 01:40 | 01:58 | 4 min | Day 3 | 3,041 km |
| Chengdu | 500 m | 06:26 | — | — | Day 3 | 3,360 km |
Please note that the timetable and schedule are just for your reference. When you want to buy a train ticket from Chengdu to Lhasa, you need check the detailed information from official website. In the peak tourism season, it is hard for you to get a train ticket. You need book it in advance. If you can’t get a train ticket, you can contact your commissioned travel agency to help you get one.
Tibet Train Cars and Facilities
There are three kinds of cars on the train from Chengdu to Lhasa. One is the soft sleeper car with 4 beds in one cabin, and the other is the hard sleeper car with 6 beds in one cabin. And the third one is another kind of car: hard seat ticket. If you do not have much budget and want to take photos or videos out of train window, head seat is good choice for you.
Each train is equipped with one dinner car providing tourists with food as well as drinks, usually in the seventh or eighth car. And the boiled water is available for 24 hours. And each cabin is equipped with oxygen supply to avoid the sickness of the altitude. Travelers don’t worry too much about the altitude sickness on the train.
