"It will spell the end of Tibet's distinct cultural identity," said Tethong, speaking at an international media gathering in New Delhi, India, to present the study, China's Railway Project: Where Will it Take Tibet. This is the first study of the potentially harmful effects the building of the railway would have on Tibet. After having weighed the possible advantages against the disadvantages, the study concludes that the railway will have an overall negative effect on the Tibetan people.

"The study clearly reveals the railway lines will facilitate China's population transfer on to the Tibetan plateau and exploitation of Tibet's un-tapped natural resources," claimed Tethong.

The study reports that China wishes to use the railway, which has been classified as 'high priority' by Beijing's tenth five-year plan, to speed up troop deployment and strengthen its grip on Tibet. Natural resources, such as hydropower, will be siphoned away and used to feed China's power-hungry industries.

According to the study, the proposed railway will harm both man and nature. The Dri-Chu (Yangtze), Gyamo-Ngochu (Salween) and Dzachu (Mekong) rivers would become contaminated, damaging the fragile ecosystem of the Tibetan plateau. In the mean time, Tibet would experience an inflow of Chinese settlers, leading eventually to the marginalization of the locals. This presents a threat to traditional Tibetan culture and identity, the study says.

The Gormo-Lhasa railway is part of Beijing's bigger plan to link the Tibetan capital with China through four railway lines. The laying of track on the Gormo line alone is costing $3 billion, and is expected to be completed only in 2007. The other railways will begin in Lanzhou, Chengdu and Dali and all run to Lhasa. China's eagerness to complete multiple railways to Tibet certainly will do nothing to quell Tethong's worries and may spell trouble for the province in general.