The Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) is the world’s highest railway across the harshest regions with frozen earth and cold deserts. Ever since it was built up, the railway has been encountering with serious sand hazards. The safe of the operation was also being continuously threatened by the big risk, thus it is in great essential to find and effective way to control the wind-blown sand hazards along the way.  

Due to the strong wind, rich sand materials and the influence of human activities, the sand hazards along the QTR are characterized by relatively concentrated distribution, compound erosion induced by freeze-thaw, wind and hydraulic power, constantly developing and accumulating degree, and poor stability of blown-sand activities. 

The sand hazards can be divided into three types such as subgrade deflation, ballast sand deposition and abrasion. There are about total 440 km of slight, moderate, and severe sand hazards sections distributed mainly at eight sections along the QTR: Xitie Mountain, Fushaliang, Honglianghe River, Xishuihe River-Beiluhe River, Tuotuohe River, Tongtianhe River, Zhajiazangbu River, and Cuonahu Lake. At present, the mechanical control measure is the main method used for protecting the QTR from sand hazards. Although the protection effect is obvious in the initial stages, the way was often be buried by sand sediments eventually. Therefore, we think that biological methods (such as vegetation restoration) would be better if combined with mechanical methods for controlling the wind-blown sand hazards along the QTR. 

This program is financially supported by the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI) Funds for Young Talents (No. 51Y351121), The National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 40930741), and The Knowledge Innovative Program of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (No.KZCX2-YW-329). The paper has been published on the Journal of Desert Research, vol. 34, No. 1, Jan. 2014. 

 Fig. 1 A photo showing the blown-sand hazards in the Tuotuohe section of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (Image by CAREERI) 

 Fig. 2 Sandy sediments prevented by cement rows or nylon squares placed along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway (Image by CAREERI)