New Tibet Railway Line

Why in news?

• China has begun work on a strategically significant railway line - its second major rail link to Tibet - that will link Sichuan province with Nyingchi, which lies near the border with India’s Arunachal Pradesh.

About the line:

• The Sichuan–Tibet railway, Sichuan–Xizang railway or Chuanzang railway is a high-elevation railway under construction that will connect Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, and Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
• The line will be 1,700 km long and is projected to cost 250 billion yuan (US$36.88 billion).
• This line will have a 525-metre-long bridge across the Brahmaputra built at a height of 3,350 metres making it the world's highest concrete-filled steel tube arch railway bridge.
• The importance of the project is that this will be the second such route linking the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to the hinterland.
• It will run right up to Nyingchi near the border with India, which it will link to both Lhasa and Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan.
• It will largely improve the efficiency and convenience of military personnel and material transportation and logical supplies on the Chinese side of border thus possessing a strategic challenge to India.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements:
1.Tibetan autonomous region is the largest province level division of Peoples republic of China.
2.Tibet is the highest region on Earth with continuous civilian inhabitation.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question