China Operationalises Bullet Train In Tibet, Close To The Indian Border

In a major development, China has today (25 June) operationalised its maiden fully electric bullet train in the Himalayan region of Tibet close to the border with India, reports Economic Times.

The bullet train connects provincial capital Lhasa to Nyingchi, which is a strategically located Tibetan prefecture-level city of Medog which lies adjacent to the Arunachal Pradesh border.

The corridor is 435.5 kilometres long and is a part of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway which starts from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, and travels through Ya'an and enters Tibet via Qamdo, shortening the journey from Chengdu to Lhasa from 48 hours to 13 hours.

The development gains significance as China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-kilometres-long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Also, it should be noted that the inauguration of the said bullet train corridor comes just days ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on 1 July.