The Indian Railways has taken in right earnest its ambitious project to strengthen the rail network in areas located close to Tibet. To start the survey work on the proposed Bilaspur-Manali-leh new railway line at the earliest, the Railway Ministry has sought land from ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (lAHDC) to set up camp office at leh. The cost of construction of the 498-km railway line has been estimated at over Rs22,000 crore.
On its side, China has already established rail link between lhasha and Xigaze, the two major cities of Tibet lying at an altitude of 3,700 metres and 3,800 metres above the sea level respectively. China has also planned to set up rail link closer to Kathmandu and another one parallel to Arunachal Pradesh.
A senior railway official said that the lAHDC Chairman has been requested to allot land for setting up camp office at leh to speed up the survey work of the Bilaspur-Manali-leh rail line. Apart from being of strategic importance, the proposed line is also expected to boost tourism potential of the area, right from Himachal Pradesh to ladakh.
Recently top railway officers visited leh along with a dedicated team and discussed the issue of railway connectivity to ladakh region with the local elected representatives and district administration recently.
According to the official, the Chairman lAHDC has advised them to submit a formal application in this regard. The lAHDC has assured that the land allotment would be done at top priority. Bilaspur-Manali-leh rail line would pass through Bilaspur, Mandi, Kullu and lahaul-Spiti districts of Himachal Pradesh to reach leh.
While expansion of railways network has been going on in the Valley region of the Jammu & Kashmir, connectivity has also reached in the equally strategically significant State of Arunachal Pradesh.
While India is moving at a slow pace, China has expanded its rail network to Tibet and planned another rail line till Kathmandu. Gyirong is just 84km from Kathmandu and the proposed rail line laying work could be expected to be complete by 2019. China has already put under construction the 1,629km Tibet lhasa-Nyingchi-Chengdu railway from both ends.