Are there rail connections to China or Burma (Myanmar) from the northeast of India?
[5/99] At present, none. (And there have never been any in the past during British rule either.) In the northeast, going up the Brahmaputra valley, the Indian rail network comes quite close to China. It also comes near Burma at two places, though there are considerable gaps before the actual border is reached. The nearest Indian railhead to Myanmar is Lekhapani at the end of the (newly converted) broad gauge branch line from Tinsukia Jn). (Passenger services currently terminate at Ledo. There used to be passenger service until Lekhapani in the 1970s. It is said that there are occasional special services between Ledo and Lekhapani for colliery employees.) On the Myanmar side the nearest railhead is a few hundred kilometres south-east of Lekhapani at Myitkyina. There are considerable difficulties in any proposed connection to China from here even though this is very close to the international border between India and China. Both to the north and to the east the territory on approaching a
