Railway Line to Connect China and Tibet

 China has begun to build a strategic railway line (this is the second major railway line to Tibet) that will connect Sichuan Province in southwest China with Linzhi, Tibet, near the border of Arunachal Pradesh in India. Linzhi (also known as Nyingchi) is located near the border of Arunachal Pradesh.

Highlights:

♦ The India-China border dispute involves a 3,488-kilometer line of actual control, which is the actual border between the two countries. China claims that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of southern Tibet, but India firmly rejected it.

♦ Just like the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Line (which connected Lhasa (the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR)) to the mainland in 2006), this will be the second route to connect the Tibet Autonomous Region with the mainland.

♦ The Sichuan-Tibet Railway departs from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.

♦ When there is a crisis on the border, the railway can act as a "fast track" for the transportation of strategic materials.

♦ Since this railway runs near the southwest border of China, it will greatly improve the efficiency and convenience of military personnel and material transportation and logical materials.