China has started constructing the first ever train station in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa, the state-run China Central Television said.

The station, to be built at a cost of $ 12 million, would be the final stop on the ambitious Qinghai-Tibet railway. It would also be the world's highest and one of China's biggest-ever engineering projects.

The Lhasa train station, 4,000 meters above sea level, would be ready by 2007 to receive the first train from Xining in neighbouring Qinghai province.

Tibet [Images] is often referred to as the world's roof.

Located across the river from the famous Potala Palace, the official residence of the Dalai Lama [Images], the station is also set to become a local landmark in the remote Himalayan region.

The 1,142-km long Qinghai-Tibet Railway from Golmud in Qinghai Province to Lhasa would reach an altitude of up to 5,070 meters at some places. Once completed, the Qinghai-Tibet Railway would also be the longest rail route on a plateau.

This would give the rail route the unique distinction of being both the highest and the longest rail route in the world, a feat once considered impossible.