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andrewgreen
10th April 2015, 05:14
I read this and felt sick, just feels inherently wrong to me for several reasons. Everest is a symbol of nature, it's of the few last remaining mysteries of earth and science may be about to drive a stake through it's heart.

http://stgist.com/2015/04/china-railway-from-qinghai-to-tibet-mount-everest-tunnel-2857

Science, Technology, and General Interest News
China planning train tunnel construction under Mount Everest

In order to connect the province of Qingai and Kathmandu in Nepal via the autonomous territory of Tibet, the Chinese government has been exploring the idea of drilling a portion of the Mount Everest, and create a railway tunnel.
Qinhai to Tibet Railway
Technology Gist
By: Matt Dayo | Last updated Thursday, April 9th, 2015, 10:56:02 pm NYC Time | CORRECTIONS: contact@stgist.com.

Forget Elon Musk’s Hyperloop. China, the second largest economy in the world, has been exploring the idea of drilling the foot of a portion of Mount Everest to construct a train tunnel.

In case you’re wondering, Everest is the highest mountain the world that stretches from the border between Nepal to outskirts of Tibet, the latter is a claimed territory of the superpower.

As noted by the China Daily, the government’s public transport committee has been considering extending the railway line that connects Qinghai province, Tibet, and beyond — because the Tibetan government is reportedly “requesting” for the project. Extending the line would require drilling a portion of the highest mountain on Earth, the report reveals.

In addition to boosting the local economy of Tibet by providing faster link to move goods from China’s capital, the said project is also expected to enhance the economic connection between Beijing and India, which is the tenth largest in the world based on size. India is located southwest of Tibet.

Nepal Qinghai via Tibet planned railway

But moving goods from Nepal, Tibet, and portions of India to mainland China is just the tip of the iceberg. Apparently, tourism in Nepal has been gaining momentum, and this planned rail extension would drive more Chinese tourists from the East to the Himalayas.

This news arrives three months after the Beijing-led government announced its planned construction of the railway that would link the capital and the city of Moscow, in Russia. This project would construct the “longest railway” in the world, if completed.

According to Google Maps, a fast moving rail would travel 1 day and 2 hours from Qinghai to Tibet today, and just more than 2 hours via plane trip. The new proposal is looking to connect Tibet and Kathmandu by drilling the portion of the Himalayan mountain in the Shigatse region. Ξ

Erich
10th April 2015, 05:32
They are signing railroad construction agreements all over SE Asia now I imagine as prep for more sensible trading with neighbors instead of certain scumbag oligarchs.

andrewgreen
10th April 2015, 05:38
They are signing railroad construction agreements all over SE Asia now I imagine as prep for more sensible trading with neighbors instead of certain scumbag oligarchs.

I'm a huge fan of rail transportation and I imagine there would be a far higher percentage of goods and passengers moving by train if the oil companies and governments didn't want extra tax and profit from selling oil. However my issue is the actual drilling under Everest, just feels wrong to me.

A Voice from the Mountains
10th April 2015, 05:58
I'd like to see how much of Everest is actually tunneled through. They make it sound like only part of the very foot of the mountain. It seems like there'd be way too much weight under the main part of the mountain but maybe I'm wrong.

Erich
10th April 2015, 13:34
They are signing railroad construction agreements all over SE Asia now I imagine as prep for more sensible trading with neighbors instead of certain scumbag oligarchs.

I'm a huge fan of rail transportation and I imagine there would be a far higher percentage of goods and passengers moving by train if the oil companies and governments didn't want extra tax and profit from selling oil. However my issue is the actual drilling under Everest, just feels wrong to me.

I'd need more detail to opine about the plan to drill. There may be tunnels there already.

Bill Ryan
10th April 2015, 14:17
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I know quite a bit about that region, and I suspect that "under Mount Everest" is some journalist's creative catchphrase. I'd like to know more, but as best I understand that wouldn't at all be the most efficient route to tunnel under the Himalayas.

lucidity
11th April 2015, 01:46
... of-course, it could all be a cover story for building
a military base, or bases, under a nice, big, safe mountain range.
Presumably any bases under the Himalayas would be nuke
and EMP proof.

be happy

lucidity :-)

Wind
11th April 2015, 04:09
Don't know about the validity of this story, but the top dogs in China are not DUMB (pun intended).

acoExDbRlrE

grannyfranny100
11th April 2015, 16:27
Funny how differently we all react to this story. What verve the Chinese have. The USA has a history of doing imaginative and difficult projects. We did cross country railroads and highways. We were the "can do" people.