"Since 2009, the Burmese military regime (the State Peace and Development Council ? SPDC), has been constructing a new 361-km long railway between Mong Nai in southern Shan State and Kengtung in eastern Shan State. The regime is claiming that the railway will promote the development of Shan State, facilitate passenger travel and ?contribute to swift fl ow of commodities.” However, the speed and ruthlessness with which the railway is being carved through this isolated border area reveal a much more sinister agenda. Scores of bulldozers and trucks are at work at each end of the railway, where thousands of acres of farmlands have already been confi scated. Attempts by farmers to complain have been met with threats of prison. Preparing for war The real purpose of the railway is strategic. It cuts between the northern and southern territories of the United Wa State Army (UWSA), the largest ceasefi re group, which has refused to come under the regime?s control as a Border Guard Force. In the event of an offensive against the UWSA, or the resistance forces of the Shan State Army-South, the railway will enable rapid deployment of heavy weapons and other military supplies to this remote mountainous area. Apart from munitions, the main commodities that the railway will carry are natural resources plundered without consent from local communities. The railway runs directly through Mong Kok, where the regime and Thai investors are planning to excavate millions of tons of lignite for export to Thailand..."