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The China–Nepal Railway ( zh, 中尼铁路; ne, चीन-नेपाल रेलवे) is a planned railway between China and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
. The railway will link
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...
with
Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histori ...
,
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, crossing the
China–Nepal border The China–Nepal border is the international boundary between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal. It is in length and runs in a northwest–southeast direction along the Himalayan mountain range, including Mount Everest, the worl ...
at Gyirong
Rasuwa Rasuwa District ( ne, रसुवा जिल्ला is one of 13 districts of Bagmati Province and one of seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Dhunche as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (20 ...
.


History

As early as 1973, Mao Zedong proposed a connection between the two countries to King Birendra of Nepal in Beijing. In 2006, the Qinghai–Tibet Railway, the first railway in
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
, was completed. The same year, the then chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region
Qiangba Puncog Qiangba Puncog, also spelled Champa Phuntsok (; ; born in May 1947) was the chairman of the government of Tibet Autonomous Region of China from 2003 until January 2010. He is of Tibetan ethnicity. He was most visible in public during the 2008 Ti ...
told the current Prime Minister of Nepal
Khadga Prasad Oli Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli ( ne, खड्गप्रसाद शर्मा ओली, ; born 22 February 1952) is a Nepalese politician and former Prime Minister of Nepal. He served three terms as prime minister from 11 October 2015 to 3 Augu ...
, then Deputy Prime Minister, that the railway would be extended to Shigatse and eventually to
China–Nepal border The China–Nepal border is the international boundary between the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal. It is in length and runs in a northwest–southeast direction along the Himalayan mountain range, including Mount Everest, the worl ...
. In 2016, during Oli's visit to China, the two countries signed a treaty on trade and transit, including a plan to build a high speed railway from Kathmandu to the Chinese border. In June 2018, Nepal and China agreed on construction of the railway as a component of a series of cooperation projects approved by the two sides. A mutual agreement over the pre-feasibility study was reached in August 2018. The railway has been viewed as a way to reduce Nepal's dependence on India, which was made apparent during the
2015 Nepal blockade : The 2015 Nepal blockade, which began on 23 September 2015 and lasted about six months, was an economic and humanitarian crisis which severely affected Nepal and its economy. Nepal has accused India of imposing an undeclared blockade trigger ...
. The first extension of the Tibetan Railway, the Lhasa–Shigatse railway, opened in 2014. China plans to extend this railway up to Lake Paiku/ Gyirong, which is around 60 km from the Rasuwa border crossing. Construction of the railway from Shigatse to Gyirong is expected to be complete by 2022. The cost of the Nepalese section of the railway has been estimated to be from US$ 2.7 billion up to 5.5 billion, but no agreement has been reached yet over the funding, with Nepal unable to bear the full cost of the railway. A Chinese pre-feasibility study proposed a tunnel under the Langtang National Park to avoid a steep gradient and building in the protected area. In a straight line, the distance between Kathmandu and the border with China is just 70 km.


Route

Existing
Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...
–Kathmandu and
Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by #Name, other names, is the list of capitals in China, capital of Shaanxi, Shaanxi Province. A Sub-provincial division#Sub-provincial municipalities, sub-provincial city o ...
–Kathmandu freight routes involve cargo being carried by trucks from
Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histori ...
through Gyirong border post to Nepal. This first leg of the route starts from Lanzhou, a major freight hub in the Chinese railway network, to
Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and ...
over the Lanzhou–Qinghai railway (opened 1959), from Xining to
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
over the Qinghai–Tibet railway (opened 2006), and from Lhasa to
Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histori ...
over the Lhasa–Xigazê railway (opened 2014). Within China, the new railway, which will cross of Chinese territory before reaching the Nepali border, will mostly follow the route of
China National Highway 318 China National Highway 318 (G318) runs from Shanghai to Zhangmu on the China-Nepal border. It is the longest China National Highway at in length and runs west from Shanghai towards Zhejiang, Anhui, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, and ends in Tibet A ...
after leaving
Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histori ...
, passing through Lhatse,
Sa'gya Sa'gya County (; ) is a county under the prefecture-level city of Xigazê in the Tibet Autonomous Region. The county is named after Sakya Monastery, home of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. Towns and townships * Sa'gya Town (, ) * Gêdin ...
, Dinggyê, Tingri, and Nyalam. After reaching Nyalam, the railway will follow Highway 219 to Gyirong. The Nepali section is long, and is considered one of the most challenging railway projects due to topographical issues of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over ...
. 98.5% of the section will be bridges or tunnels. There will be four stations along the line, with the terminal at Sankhu in Kathmandu. A further extension to
Pokhara Pokhara ( ne, पोखरा, ) is a metropolitan city in Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. It is the second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 518,452 inhabitants living in 101,669 households in 2021. ...
and
Lumbini Lumbinī ( ne, लुम्बिनी, IPA=ˈlumbini , "the lovely") is a Buddhist pilgrimage site in the Rupandehi District of Lumbini Province in Nepal. It is the place where, according to Buddhist tradition, Queen Mahamayadevi gave birt ...
is planned.


See also

* Railway in Nepal * 8 different India–Nepal cross-border rail lines *
Churia Tunnel The Churia Tunnel ( ne, चुरिया सुरुङ्ग) is a -long highway tunnel carved through the churia hill between Makwanpur and Bara of Nepal. It was constructed connecting the country's first motorable road between Amlekhganj ...
* China-Laos railway


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:China-Nepal railway Rail transport in China Rail transport in Nepal Rail transport in Tibet Mountain railways China–Nepal relations