Train lines from India to Bhutan to be unveiled soon

Guwahati: The governments of India and Bhutan will launch two cross-border railway projects, connecting Banarhat to Samtse (Bhutan) and Kokrajhar to Gelephu, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced on Monday.

The two railway lines will be linked to West Bengal’s Banarhat and Assam’s Kokrajhar.

“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 last year," the Foreign Secretary said at a special press briefing.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed later on Monday on the occasion of Bhutan Foreign Secretary’s visit to India.

This would mark the first cross-border railway projects from India to Bhutan.

“India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect and understanding. This is a relationship that is rooted in cultural and civilizational ties, extensive people-to-people relations and our shared developmental and security interests. These ties are reflected in very close contact at the highest levels," Misri said.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw added, “One is Gelephu. This is being developed as a mindfulness city. And secondly, Samtse, which is an industrial city," he said. Samtse will be connected to West Bengal’s Banarhat and Gelephu to Assam’s Kokrajhar.

“The two projects will take off from the network of Indian railways at Kokrajhar and Banarhat. The investment which is envisaged at this point of time is about Rs 4,033 crore, and the total length of about 90 km of the railway network will be created," Vaishnaw added.