A planned luxury train to Tibet has been postponed for the second time in a year, the operator said Monday, adding the global slowdown — not simmering tension in the Himalayan region — was to blame. Mo< Tangula Luxury Trains, which was expected to launch high-class tours from Beijing to Lhasa in April this year, said it would delay the start of package holidays on the world's highest railway until spring 2010.

"The rescheduling of our official launch was a very recent decision and was taken by our management in light of the current global economic climate," a Beijing-based spokeswoman told AFP.

The rescheduling has resulted in the company forfeiting "a few million dollars" in advance bookings, she said.

The spokesperson denied reports that raised tension in Tibet had led the company to postpone the tours, which will cost up to $5000 for a single first class berth from Beijing to Lhasa.

"Tangula is a non-political initiative, hence, we do not take a position on such issues," she said.

"The recent rescheduling of our official launch has no such implication but (was) a business decision."

The announcement comes after numerous China-based tour operators said foreign travel to Tibet was being curbed during this month's 50th anniversary of a failed anti-Chinese uprising that resulted in the exile of the Dalai Lama.

Security in Tibet has been greatly beefed up as discontent over China's rule of the Himalayan region simmers.

Tangula had originally announced plans to begin train services to Lhasa following the Beijing Olympics in August last year, but after unrest erupted in Tibet in March 2008 those plans were pushed back until April this year.

The spokesperson said the company has invested about $100-million in its luxury trains. Hong Kong's Wing On Travel is a major partner in the company.

AFP

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