India announces two rail links to Bhutan through Assam & Bengal

New Delhi: Boosting sub-regional connectivity and cross-border economic activity, India on Monday announced two new rail links - Kokrajhar-Gelephu (Assam) and Banarhat-Samtse (West Bengal) - between India and Bhutan at a cost of ₹4,033 crore.

These two projects are part of the first set of rail connectivity projects between India and Bhutan, foreign secretary Vikram Misri announced at a press conference that was also addressed by the railway minister. The MoU for these projects was signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Bhutan last year and a formal agreement will be signed later on the occasion of Bhutanese foreign secretary's visit here.

"India is the largest trading partner of Bhutan. Most of the EXIM trade of Bhutan is through Indian ports, therefore, it becomes very important to have seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow, and for the Bhutanese people to have better access to the global network," Vaishnaw said.


The Union minister said that the rail links will provide Bhutan access to 150,000 km of the Indian railway network.