China on Friday launched its first fully electrified bullet train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet. This bullet train will connect the provincial capital Lhasa and Nyingchi, a border town of Tibet located close to Arunachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, the 435.5-km-long Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway was inaugurated on July 1 ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).
According to China's official news agency Xinhua, the first electrified railway in Tibet Autonomous Region opened Friday morning. Linking Lhasa with Nyingchi as "Fuxing" bullet trains enter official operation on the plateau region. At the same time, the Sichuan–Tibet Railway will be the second railway in Tibet after the Qinghai–Tibet Railway. It will pass through the southeast region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
In November, Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed officials to expedite a new railway project linking Sichuan province with Nyingchi in Tibet, saying the new rail line would play an important role in maintaining stability along the border. Meanwhile, the Sichuan–Tibet Railway will start from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and will pass through Yan and enter Tibet via Qamdo.
Meanwhile, this will reduce the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which India vehemently rejects. At the same time, the India-China border dispute is over the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC). Qian Feng, director of the research department of the National Strategy Institute at Xinghua University, had earlier told the state daily 'Global Times' that the railways would help China provide strategic logistical support if a crisis situation arises along the China-India border. '
