The Sichuan-Tibet Railway’s 435.5 km Lhasa-Nyingchi section was inaugurated ahead of the ruling Communist Party of China's (CPC) centennial celebrations on July 1.
On Friday, China launched the first fully electrified bullet train in Tibet's remote Himalayan region, connecting Lhasa, the provincial capital, and Nyingchi, a Tibetan border town strategically located near the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
On Friday morning, the Tibet Autonomous Region's electrified railway connected Lhasa and Nyingchi for the first time, while Fuxing bullet trains began service on the Himalayan plateau region.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. The railway line will pass through the southeast corner of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most geologically active regions.
China's President Xi Jinping ordered officials to speed up the construction of the new railway line in November, saying it would play a critical role in ensuring the border's stability.
The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will begin in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, and travel through Ya'an before entering Tibet via Qamdo, cutting the travel time from Chengdu to Lhasa to 13 hours from 48 hours.
Nyingchi is a prefecture-level city in Medog, located near the Arunachal Pradesh border, according to the report. China claims that Arunachal Pradesh, India's northeastern state, is part of South Tibet. India, on the other hand, categorically denies this claim. The 3,488 km Line of Actual Control is at the centre of the India-China border dispute.
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