The Union government on Monday announced two new railway connections between India and Bhutan.

The links will be part of the first set of rail connectivity projects between the two countries.

While the first line links Assam’s Kokrajhar to Gelephu in Bhutan, the second will connect West Bengal’s Banarhat and Samtse.

“The investment which is envisaged at this point of time is about Rs 4,033 crore, and the total length is about 90-km,” Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at a press conference.

Bhutan is developing Gelephu as a “mindfulness city” and Samtse as an industrial city, he added.

The Kokrajhar-Gelephu rail link will be developed in four years and the Banarhat-Samtse connection in three years.

India is Bhutan’s largest trading partner, Vaishnaw said.

“Most of the exempt trade of Bhutan is done through Indian ports,” he added. “Therefore, it becomes very important to have a good seamless rail connectivity for the economy of Bhutan to grow and for the people to have better access to the global network.”

The rail links will provide Bhutan access to 1.5 lakh km of the Indian railway network, Vaishnaw said.

The memorandum of understanding for the two projects was signed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Bhutan in 2024, The Hindu reported.

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