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How was the Burmese city of Lashio connected to the Burma Road?

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Map showing the height of Japanese territorial expansion in 1942 during World War II, with a large hatched area covering much of East and Southeast Asia and the western Pacific, including parts of China, Korea, Southeast Asia, the Philippines, and numerous Pacific islands. Japan's home islands are shaded in solid red, while the expansion area stretches from India and Burma in the west to the Aleut — Burma Railway In World War II Japanese military forces quickly took advantage of their success at Pearl Harbor to expand their holdings throughout the Pacific and westward toward India. This expansion continued relatively unchecked until mid-1942. Then, after losing the Battle of Midway, Japan was forced on the defensive.

The Burmese city of Lashio served as the southern terminus of the Burma Road, which functioned as a vital supply route for Chinese forces during the Sino-Japanese War.12

Lashio was connected to this logistical network through a rail link that transported war goods from the port of Rangoon (now Yangon) to the Lashio railhead. From there, supplies were moved by road to Kunming in China. The Japanese military prioritized the capture of Lashio in 1942 specifically to sever this supply line and deprive Nationalist forces of essential resources.12