INFRASTRUCTURE
Two Rs 4,000-crore cross-border railway lines planned between India and Bhutan
- IBJ Bureau
- Sep 30, 2025
India has announced a joint plan with Bhutan to implement two cross-border rail links with Bhutanese cities of Samtse and Gelephu at a cost of more than Rs 4,000 crore.
The details of the initiative have been made public by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a media briefing.
The two governments have agreed to establish two cross-border rail links to connect Banarhat (West Bengal) to Samtse and Kokrajhar (Assam) with Gelephu, Mr Misri has said.
“India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect and understanding,” he has added.
The agreement for setting up the rail links was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan last year.
Mr Vaishnaw has said that the projects will take off from the network of Indian Railways. The investment envisaged at this point is about Rs 4,033 crore, he has added. An 89-km railway network will be created under the initiative.
Sharing details of the first 69-km-long line between Kokrajhar and Gelephu, Mr Vaishnaw has disclosed that there will be six stations between the two cities, and the construction of the complete line will involve two important bridges, two viaducts, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, two goods sheds, one road-over-bridge (ROB) and 39 road-under-bridges (RUBs). It will be completed in four years with an investment of Rs 3,456 crore and 2.39 km out of 69 km will be on the Bhutanese side.
The second line from Banarhat to Samtse will be 20 km long with two stations in between. It will have a completion period of three years and cost Rs 577 crore.
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