NEW DELHI: India and Bhutan will soon be connected by rail, as the Ministry of Railways announced two major cross-border projects on Monday. The projects will link Bhutan’s industrial towns of Gelephu and Samtse with Kokrajhar and Banarhat in Assam, with a total investment of Rs 4,033 crore.
Fully funded by India, these railway connections are expected to improve the movement of goods and people, strengthen trade, and create employment opportunities.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, accompanied by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, said the projects will commence soon, with completion targets of four years for the Kokrajhar–Gelephu line and three years for the Banarhat–Samtse line.
A total of 89 km of fully electrified track will be laid, allowing modern, made-in-India trains to operate for both freight and passenger services. Vaishnaw said environmental concerns have been fully considered.
India is Bhutan’s largest trading partner, and most of Bhutan’s EXIM trade is conducted through Indian ports. Therefore, it becomes very important to have good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow, and for the people to have better ways of access to the global network,” he said. The agreement for the railway lines was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in 2024.
The Kokrajhar–Gelephu line will be 69 km long, including six stations, two major bridges, two viaducts, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, and two goods sheds, at a cost of Rs 3,456 crore. The Banarhat–Samtse line will be 20 km long, comprising two stations, one major bridge, 24 minor bridges, and 37 underpasses, at a cost of Rs 577 crore.
The Ministry of Railways will fund the Indian segments of both rail projects as Special Railway Projects. The Ministry of External Affairs of India will finance the Bhutanese segments under Bhutan’s 13th Five-Year Plan. The Banarhat–Samtse route covers 17.42 km in India and 2.13 km in Bhutan, while the Kokrajhar–Gelephu line includes 66.66 km in India and 2.39 km in Bhutan.