China to extend Tibet rail to town near Nepal border

• China announced on 6 March 2014 to extend the Qinghai-Tibet railway line to Xigaze in Tibet. 
• Xigaze is hometown of Panchen Lama. 
• Panchen Lama is a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He holds an important position in the China Buddhist Association.
• The proposed extension is the world’s highest railway line. 
• The 253-km Lhasa-Xigaze railway line will be open before October 2014. 
• It will run at 120 km per hour through valleys and over three bridges that run across the Brahmaputra River or Yarlung Zangbo as it is known in China. 
• The new extension line will take travelers from Lhasa to Xigaze also known as Shigatse in about two hours over five hours. 
• Shigatse is an important monastery town home to the Tashilhunpo monastery that has been the seat of the Panchen Lamas, and is an important centre of pilgrimage for many Tibetans.
• China has also proposed extending the line from Shigatse to the border with Nepal. 
• Through this extension China aimed to meet both political and military goals.

Important to note : 

• The Xigaze region borders India's Sikkim, Nepal and Bhutan. 
• The new extension line will make it easier for the China to carry men and machinery to the Indian border at short notice.