China Opens Tibet's First Bullet Train Near Arunachal Border

BEIJING: China's first completely electrified bullet train began service on Friday in Tibet's remote Himalayan area, connecting the provincial capital Lhasa with Nyingchi, a strategically positioned Tibetan border town near Arunachal Pradesh.

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway's 435.5-kilometer Lhasa-Nyingchi section was opened ahead of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) centenary celebrations on July 1.

After the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway entering Tibet.

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It will pass across the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most active geological regions.

In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping directed officials to speed up the construction of a new railway line connecting Sichuan Province and Nyingchi, Tibet, claiming that the new train line will be essential for maintaining border stability.

The Sichuan-Tibet Railway begins from Chengdu, Sichuan Province's capital and runs through Ya"an before enter Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the travel from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.

Nyingchi is a Medog prefecture-level city located near the Arunachal Pradesh border.

Arunachal Pradesh is claimed by China as part of South Tibet, which India denies. The 3,488-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC) is the core of the India-China border dispute.

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