India and Bhutan are set to construct their first cross-border railway lines, New Delhi announced on Monday. This $454-million project is slated for completion within four years.
Vikram Misri, India’s foreign secretary, highlighted that India, as Bhutan’s primary trading partner, has been instrumental in the modernization of the Himalayan kingdom’s infrastructure and economy.
Indian Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw emphasized that the rail project will offer tremendous benefits to the people of Bhutan.
“The entire region will be interconnected, allowing goods that currently take days to transport to be moved within hours,” he stated.
The initial railway, spanning 69 kilometers (43 miles) and estimated to cost 34.56 billion rupees ($390 million), will link India’s northeastern city of Kokrajhar to Bhutan’s Gelephu, a town of 10,000 near the Indian border.
A second railway line, extending 20 kilometers and anticipated to cost 5.77 billion rupees, will connect Bhutan’s northwestern industrial hub of Samtse to Banarhat in eastern India.
Despite its small size and landlocked position, with a population under 800,000, Bhutan is nestled between China and India and is famous for its focus on “Gross National Happiness” over economic growth.
However, Bhutan aims to develop Gelephu into an economic zone to draw foreign investment and tourists, with the new railway playing a crucial role in this development.
“It’s envisioned as an economic hub linking Bhutan with South Asia and Southeast Asia,” said India’s foreign minister, Vikram Misri.
Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the new rail lines will be electric and designed to be as eco-friendly as possible.
