In a significant advancement for India-Bhutan relations, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced plans to build two new railway lines linking India to Gelephu and Samtse in Bhutan, at a total cost of Rs 4,033 crore.

"The India-Bhutan Railway Project plans to link two significant cities in Bhutan. As informed by the Foreign Secretary, they include Gelephu, which is being made into a mindfulness city, and Samtse, an industrial city. The two projects would be connected with the Indian Railways network at Kokrajar and Banarhat," said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Explaining the connectivity, Vaishnaw added, "The Kokrajar–Gelephu line is linked to Bongaigaon, which is one of India's biggest industry centres. Kokrajar station acts as the local station, tying the project to all Indian railways. Essentially, by laying down about 70 km of new track, Bhutan accesses 150,000 km of India's railway network. This shows how big a benefit the network effect is."

The project will cover a total of around 90 kilometres, with 89 kilometres of new rail track to be built. "India is the biggest trading partner of Bhutan and most of Bhutan's exempt trade passes through Indian ports. So, it is extremely important to have a proper seamless rail connectivity for the development of the Bhutanese economy and for the people to be better connected with the global network. That's why this whole project has been taken up," said Vaishnaw.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March 2024, both countries agreed to establish the two-rail links, including Kokrajhar-Gelephu and Banarhat-Samtse. The 16-kilometre Banarhat-Samtse section will link Bhutan to West Bengal. These projects will give Bhutan its first-ever railway connectivity.

The Indian government will fully fund both railway initiatives between the two countries.

"As you would know, India and Bhutan enjoy a relationship of very high trust, mutual understanding and respect. It is a relationship based on cultural and civilisational links, deep people-to-people contacts, and our common developmental and security interests. These are represented in very close interaction at the highest levels," said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.

On India’s developmental support for Bhutan, Misri added, "The Government of India has been Bhutan's largest source of developmental assistance and has played a crucial role in its modernisation, particularly in the fields of infrastructure and overall economic development of the country."

He further said, "For the 13th Five-Year Plan of Bhutan, 2024 to 2029, the Government of India has pledged Rs 10,000 crores in support, which includes project-wide aid, high-impact community development projects, the economic stimulus program and a program grant. And this quantum represents a 100 per cent increase over the 12th five-year plan figures."