The trains to run on the Qinghai- Tibet Railway, the world's most elevated railroad, are driven by engines made by U.S.-based General Electric, a railway official said Friday.

GE locomotives are chosen to serve the railway, which winds 1, 956 kilometers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the "roof of the world", for its great traction and brake powers, low power cost and high reliability, said Zhu Zhensheng, vice-director of the Ministry of Railways office in charge of the new line.

The GE locomotives have been used in Peruvian railways in the Andes at the altitude of 4,700 meters, which boasted the highest rails in the world before Qinghai-Tibet Railway was completed.

Some 960 kilometers of Qinghai-Tibet Railway's tracks are located at 4,000 meters above sea level and the highest point is 5, 072 meters, about 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway.

The operation of the first railway that connects the Tibet Autonomous Region with the rest of China is scheduled for Saturday morning.

Source: Xinhua