China's 1st electrified bullet train in Tibet

Context: The first electrified bullet train in the remote Himalayan region of Tibet has connected the provincial capital Lhasa and Nyingchi, a strategically located Tibetan border town close to Arunachal Pradesh.
Key Points

• The 435.5-km Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet Railway has been inaugurated ahead of the centenary celebrations of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) on July 1.
• The Sichuan-Tibet Railway 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 rail line passes through 47 tunnels and 121 bridges and crosses the Brahmaputra river locally called Yarlung Zangbo 16 times.

Note: The Sichuan-Tibet Railway will be the second railway into Tibet after the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. 

• It will go through the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, one of the world's most geologically active areas.

Significance

• It has a designed speed of 160 km per hour and operates on a single-line electrified railway. It stops at nine stations, including Lhasa, Shannan and Nyingchi and can handle passenger and freight transportation.
• Compared to roads, the Lhasa-Nyingchi railway reduces the travel time from Lhasa to Nyingchi from 5 hours to approximately 3.5 hours, and cuts the travel time from Shannan to Nyingchi from 6 hours to approximately 2 hours.
• It has an annual freight transport capacity of 10 million tonnes which provides strong support for the flow of goods, will promote economic development and improve people's lives.

Threat for India

• China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet, which is firmly rejected by India. The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
• Nyingchi is the prefecture-level city of Medog which is adjacent to the Arunachal Pradesh border.
• "If a scenario of a crisis happens at the China-India border, the railway will provide a great convenience for China's delivery of strategic materials.