Tibet Luxury Train Faces Slowdown

It's not looking to be a good week for train lovers. Yesterday, I mentioned that GrandLuxe Rail Journeys was shutting down their luxury train operations. Now the AFP brings news that the planned "five-star" train from Beijing to Tibet won't be starting service in September as had been reported back in March. A reason for the delay wasn't given nor was a new date for the launch provided. Speculation is that there was a delay in the delivery of the train's carriages. But the AFP also notes that government figures show that the number of tourists visiting Tibet in the first half of 2008 fell by about 70 percent over last year after the violent riots in March. In a clampdown on the area, Beijing barred all tourists from going to Tibet until the end of April and didn't allow foreign visitors back in until the end of June.