India plans 2 cross-border rail projects with Bhutan

NEW DELHI, Oct 1: India has reaffirmed its "very special relationship with Bhutan" by announcing establishment of the first ever two cross border rail projects with Bhutan. The projects will link Kokrajhar with Gelephu and Banarhat with Samtse.

Railway Minister AshwaniVaishnav told media persons at a special briefing here on Monday that the construction on these two lines will start very soon and will bring huge benefits to the people of Bhutan. "The two lines will be used for movement of goods and passengers. Modern- fully electrified trains will be run on these lines and will have most advanced signalling system that we are implementing everywhere in the country. The projects will start very soon and land acquisition will start rapidly.'' 

The project entails linking two very important cities of Bhutan- Gelephu bordering Assam which is being developed as a mindfulness city and Samtse bordering West Bengal which is being developed as an industrial town in Bhutan. "The two projects will take off from the network of Indian Railways at Kokrajhar and Banarhat. The entire investment is done by the Indian side and is envisaged at this point of time is Rs 4,033 crore and the total length is about 90 kilometre. Eighty- nine kilometre of railway network will be created. The security arrangement will be done in consultation with the operational requirement of both countries. We will try to have as many people from the Bhutan side to be trained in railway operation so that they also become part of the railway network,'' AshwiniVaishnaw said.

The Railway Minister said, "Most of the EXIM trade of Bhutan is done through Indian ports. Therefore, it becomes very important to have seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow and for people to have better ways of access to the global network. That is why this project has been taken up. Samtse and Gelephu are very important in the way Bhutanese economic growth is being planned."

While the Kokrajhar- Gelephu line of 69 km entails an investment of Rs 3,456 crore and would take four years to complete the second line of 20 km entails an expenditure of Rs 577 crore and would take about three years to complete.
Replying to questions, AshwiniVaishnaw said that India is self- sufficient in technology and will provide Made In India coaches and Indian technology.