SOURCE:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3031966/China-plans-rail-tunnel-UNDERNEATH-Mount-Everest-link-country-Nepal.html
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http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/china-plans-to-build-rail-link-with-nepal-through-mt-everest/ar-AAaCTSh
China Plans to Build Rail Link with Nepal through Mt Everest
24 things you need to know before climbing Mount Everest
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3031966/China-plans-rail-tunnel-UNDERNEATH-Mount-Everest-link-country-Nepal.html
China Plans Rail Tunnel UNDERNEATH Mount Everest Which Would Link the Country with Nepal
- Expansion of Qinghai-Tibet line would go under world's highest mountain
- Chinese say they plan to finish the huge project within five years
- If built railway will impact on India's relationship with key economies
A tunnel could be built under Mount Everest as part of a new railway between China and Nepal, it has been revealed.
Chinese state media has reported that the government is planning to expand the Qinghai to Tibet railway 'at Nepal's request' - which could include a tunnel under the world's tallest mountain - by 2020.
The step is important politically as it shows Beijing building links with Nepal, a country India regards as firmly within its sphere of influence.
A tunnel could be built under Mount Everest in the Himalayas as part of grand new plans announced by China
Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi visited Kathmandu in December and, according to Nepalese reports, said the line could eventually be extended to the Nepalese capital and further - creating a crucial link between China and the huge markets of India.
'The line will probably have to go through Qomolangma so that workers may have to dig some very long tunnels,' expert Wang Mengshu told the Chinese Daily newspaper, referring to Everest by its Tibetan name.
He said that, due to the challenging Himalayan terrain with its 'remarkable' changes in elevation, trains on any line to Kathmandu would probably have a maximum speed of 120 kilometres per hour.
The new plans underline China's increasing influence in Nepal, after years of improving the infrastructure of the nation.
A map shows where the extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway could be built - under Mount Everest
As well as building roads, it has invested billions of dollars in hydropower and telecommunications.
Chinese tourism to Nepal, which is home to eight of the world's 14 peaks over 8,000 metres, is also climbing.
Beijing's increasing role has raised alarms in New Delhi that China, already closely allied to Pakistan, is forging closer economic ties with Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal in a deliberate strategy to encircle India.
In an apparent counter-move, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged late last year that South Asia's largest economy would fund a series of regional investments and free up its markets to its neighbours' exporters.
A train run along the existing Qinghai-Tibet railway towards Lhasa, capital of China's Tibet Autonomous Region
But India has struggled to compete with China's financial strength.
Human rights groups have criticised China's plans to expand the rail network in Tibet.
The International Campaign for Tibet has warned of the project's 'dangerous implications for regional security and the fragile ecosystem of the world's highest and largest plateau'.
'The Chinese government's claim that rail expansion on the plateau simply benefits tourism and lifts Tibetans out of poverty does not hold up to scrutiny and cannot be taken at face value,' ICT president Matteo Mecacci said in a statement last year
SEE ALSO:
http://www.msn.com/en-in/news/other/china-plans-to-build-rail-link-with-nepal-through-mt-everest/ar-AAaCTSh
China Plans to Build Rail Link with Nepal through Mt Everest
Beijing: China plans to build a 540-kilometre strategic high-speed rail link between Tibet and Nepal passing through a tunnel under Mt Everest, a move that could raise alarm in India about the Communist giant's growing influence in its neighbourhood."A proposed extension of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway to the China-Nepal border through Tibet would boost bilateral trade and tourism as there is currently no rail line linking the two countries," state-run China Daily reported today.
The rail line was expected to be completed by 2020.
However, there was no word on the cost of the project.
The 1,956-km long Qinghai-Tibet railway already links therest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond.
Wang Mengshu, a rail expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that engineers will face a number of difficulties once the project begins.
"If the proposal becomes reality, bilateral trade, especially in agricultural products, will get a strong boost, along with tourism and people-to-people exchanges," he said.
Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.
"The changes in the elevation along the line are remarkable. The line is probably have to go through Qomolangma so that worker may have to dig some very long tunnels," Wang said. Qomolangma Mountain is the Tibetan name for Mt Everest.
The rail line was expected to be completed by 2020.
However, there was no word on the cost of the project.
The 1,956-km long Qinghai-Tibet railway already links therest of China with the Tibetan capital Lhasa and beyond.
Wang Mengshu, a rail expert at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that engineers will face a number of difficulties once the project begins.
"If the proposal becomes reality, bilateral trade, especially in agricultural products, will get a strong boost, along with tourism and people-to-people exchanges," he said.
Such a plan could see a tunnel being built under Mount Everest, the China Daily said.
"The changes in the elevation along the line are remarkable. The line is probably have to go through Qomolangma so that worker may have to dig some very long tunnels," Wang said. Qomolangma Mountain is the Tibetan name for Mt Everest.
24 things you need to know before climbing Mount Everest
Restrained by rugged Himalayan mountains with its"remarkable" changes in elevation, trains on the line wouldprobably have a maximum speed of 120 kmph.
Wang said that the project is being undertaken at Nepal's request and that China has begun preparatory work.
Losang Jamcan, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, told Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav during his visit to Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa last month that China plans to extend the Tibet railway to Kermug, the Chinese town nearest to Nepal border where a border trade port has been built.
Besides Nepal, China had earlier announced plans to extend its Tibetan rail network to Bhutan and India.
During his recent visit to Nepal, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked the officials to conduct a feasibility study to extend the rail network to Kathmandu and beyond, the report said.
Hu Shisheng, Director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told official media earlier that the aim of the rail line is to simply improve the local economies and people's livelihoods.
China has been scaling up its ties with Nepal much to thechagrin of India to stem the flow of Tibetans travelling through Nepal to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.
Beijing recently increased its annual aid to Nepal to USD128 million from the previous USD 24 million.
Wang said that the project is being undertaken at Nepal's request and that China has begun preparatory work.
Losang Jamcan, Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Region, told Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav during his visit to Tibet's provincial capital Lhasa last month that China plans to extend the Tibet railway to Kermug, the Chinese town nearest to Nepal border where a border trade port has been built.
Besides Nepal, China had earlier announced plans to extend its Tibetan rail network to Bhutan and India.
During his recent visit to Nepal, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked the officials to conduct a feasibility study to extend the rail network to Kathmandu and beyond, the report said.
Hu Shisheng, Director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, told official media earlier that the aim of the rail line is to simply improve the local economies and people's livelihoods.
China has been scaling up its ties with Nepal much to thechagrin of India to stem the flow of Tibetans travelling through Nepal to meet the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.
Beijing recently increased its annual aid to Nepal to USD128 million from the previous USD 24 million.
