Railway Connection Survey Concluded Between Bhutan’s Gelephu & Assam’s Kokrajhar
Guwahati: The survey for a railway link between Bhutan’s Gelephu and Kokrajar in Assam has just been finished, so construction will shortly begin.
It is anticipated to be finished by 2026 and will be significant as the first-ever railway connection between India and Bhutan. The 57-kilometer railway will be paid for by the Indian government.
Bhutan’s Foreign Minister Dr Tandi Dorji said, “We have formed a team that will talk to the Northeastern Frontier (NF) Railways in India and start the work.” He added that after finishing this project, the government would consider connecting more areas, such as Samtse, Phuentsholing, Nganglam, and Samdrupjongkhar.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh announced the building of the Nehru Golden Jubilee Railway link when visiting Bhutan in 2008 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru’s visit to Bhutan in 1958.
The 18-kilometer railway was intended to link Hashimara in West Bengal with Toribari in Bhutan’s Phuentsholing. Tandi predicted that the project would succeed since the railway link had to be constructed via tea states.
“There was an objection from the government of West Bengal,” he added.
King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met earlier this month in India to discuss bilateral cooperation and matters of their respective nations’ interests.
“Pleased to receive His Majesty the King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. We had a warm and productive meeting. Deeply value our close friendship and the vision of successive Druk Gyalpos in guiding India-Bhutan relations to new heights,” PM Modi tweeted.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting between PM Modi and the Bhutan King, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said, “In terms of specific outcomes, which we would be following up based on the discussions, it was agreed that India would step up its support to Bhutan’s upcoming 13th Five Year Plan. The specifics of the support, its distribution into different projects that is something which is to be worked out between the two systems going forward. At Bhutan’s request, India would work to extend an additional standby credit facility. This would be over and above the two existing standby credit facilities that is operating between the two countries.”
“We would work to shape long-term sustainable arrangements for export of agricultural commodities from Bhutan. Also work to develop long-term bilateral arrangements for assured supply of critical commodities to Bhutan, which would include petroleum, fertilizers, and coal,” he added.
The projected Kokrajhar-Gelephu train link project, which would be the first rail link between the two nations, and other measures were also agreed upon by the two nations. These projects include improving connectivity with India.
