By Elaine Kurtenbach, AP Business Writer
Tangula Luxury Trains postpones the launch of service from Beijing to Tibet until 2010
SHANGHAI — The launch of the first luxury train service from Beijing to Tibet has been postponed from April until spring next year amid the economic slowdown that has battered the communist country, the operator said Monday.
A reservations staffer for Tangula Luxury Trains confirmed a Hong Kong newspaper report of the postponement, but did not provide further comment. He would not give his name because he is not authorized to speak to the media.
Other staff authorized to comment were not immediately available.
The delay of the train’s launch until the spring of 2010 resulted in the loss of about $2 million in advance bookings, the South China Morning Post reported on Monday, citing a company spokeswoman. So far $100 million has been invested in the project, it said.
It was the second delay, following a postponement from September 2008 until April this year.
The Post said Tangula’s spokeswoman characterized the postponement as a “business decision” that had nothing to do with a reported security crackdown aimed at preventing any unrest or other incidents during a year of critical anniversaries of anti-Chinese riots in Tibet.
China’s growth has slowed precipitously in recent months as exports have plunged, and the impact is reverberating through the world’s third-largest economy as unemployment rises and consumers hold back on purchases, especially of luxury goods and services.
Tangula, the first foreign-invested passenger train service in China, plans to run luxury trains from Beijing to Tibet and southwest China’s Yunnan province. The fares are $3,300-$5,000 per person, depending on the route.
Hong Kong-based Wing On Travel owns a majority stake in Tangula Railtours, a joint venture between Tangula Group Ltd. and state-owned Qinghai-Tibet Railway Corp.
