New Delhi: India will fund and build Bhutan’s first railway connectivity through two new cross-border links, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Monday, September 29.
The Rs 4,033 crore project will link Banarhat in West Bengal to Samtse, and Kokrajhar in Assam to Gelephu, marking a milestone in bilateral relations.
First Cross-Border Rail Connectivity Projects
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said, “The two governments have agreed to establish two cross-border rail links between Banarhat and Samtse and Kokrajhar and Gelephu. This will be the first set of rail connectivity projects with Bhutan. The memorandum of understanding for this connectivity was actually signed during the visit of the Prime Minister to Bhutan... and this MOU will be formally signed later today in New Delhi.”
Have a look at his entire statement here:
He underlined that the initiative builds on the deep trust and cultural, developmental and security ties between the two nations. He added, “The Government of India has been Bhutan's largest provider of developmental assistance and has played a vital role in its modernisation... For the 13th Five-Year Plan of Bhutan, which runs from 2024 to 2029, the Government of India has committed support of Rs 10,000 crores... a 100 per cent increase over the 12th five-year plan figures.”
Rail Links to Connect Industrial and Mindfulness Hubs
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the India-Bhutan Railway Project aims to connect two important Bhutanese cities: Gelephu, which is being developed as a mindfulness city, and Samtse, an industrial hub. “The Kokrajar–Gelephu line connects to Bongaigaon, a major industrial hub in India... by constructing approximately 70 km of new track, Bhutan gains access to 150,000 km of India’s railway network. This demonstrates the significant advantage of the network effect,” he said.
The project will create about 89 km of railway network, including a 16 km stretch between Banarhat and Samtse. Vaishnaw highlighted the importance of seamless connectivity, adding, “India is the largest trading partner of Bhutan... it becomes very important to have good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow and for the people to have better access to the global network."
