China To Start Construction Of Strategic Tibet Railway Section, Close To India Border

Picture courtesy www.theindianwire.com

Beijing: China will soon start construction of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway between Ya’an in southwest Sichuan province and Linzhi in Tibet, close to the Indian border in Arunachal Pradesh.

According to Chinese official media, China Railway announced bid results for construction of two tunnels and one bridge, along with power supply project for the strategic section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway, The Indian Express reported.

The second railway project in Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet section, it will originate from Chengdu and travel through Ya’an before entering Tibet, the state-run China News reported. Once the railway route is operational, the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa will be reduced from 48 hours to 13 hours.

Linzhi has one of the five airports built by China in Himalayan region and is located close to Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims to be part of southern Tibet while India doesn’t agree.

The cost of the entire Sichuan-Tibet Railway project is around $47.8 billion, Global Times reported.