Guwahati, August 12: China is set to embark on its most ambitious rail infrastructure project yet in the Himalayan frontier — a high-altitude railway linking Hotan in Xinjiang with Lhasa in Tibet, with parts of the route running near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. The $13.2 billion (95 billion yuan) project is expected to begin construction later this year, according to a report in the South China Morning Post.
A new state-owned entity, the Xinjiang-Tibet Railway Company — wholly owned by the China State Railway Group — has been formally registered to oversee construction and operations. The railway is part of Beijing’s long-term plan to establish a 5,000-km rail framework centred on Lhasa by 2035, Hubei-based Huayuan Securities said.
The planned alignment’s proximity to the LAC is seen as strategically significant, given the sensitive border region’s limited infrastructure. “Parts of the route will also run near the China-India Line of Actual Control, giving it defensive importance in a frontier area,” the report noted.
The rail link adds to China’s expanding transport network in contested areas, following the construction of the Xinjiang–Tibet highway, or G219, through Aksai Chin — a region claimed by India and a flashpoint in the 1962 Sino-Indian war. India maintains that Aksai Chin is an integral part of its territory based on historical claims and past treaties.
