BEIJING – A ceremony in the Tibetan capital of Lhasa has marked the formal completion of a railway linking the Himalayan region to the outside world.
The 1,142-kilometer-long (710-mile-long) engineering feat, running over some of the world’s most inhospitable terrain, was completed after four years of construction, the Xinhua news agency said.
While the rails have been laid, it will be another 15 months before the train actually starts carrying ordinary passengers, as signaling work and track testing still needs to be carried out, according to the China Daily newspaper.
Foreign rights group have criticized the rail link as a powerful tool in the hands of a Chinese government eager to maintain complete control over Tibet.
In particular, they have expressed concerns that it will enable massive immigration of ethnic Han Chinese to the region.
Surprisingly, the China Daily hinted at this issue, pointing out how it would make transportation easier for ethnic Chinese.
“The line is expected to attract tourists, traders and ethnic Chinese settlers who currently have to take either expensive flights to Lhasa or bone-shaking bus rides,” it said.
