The Bhutanese Leading the way.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, D. N Dhungyel, during the 6th Meet-the-Press on 26 July, shared that the two identified railway links, Gelephu to Kokrajhar in Assam and Samtse to Banarhat in West Bengal is expected to be established within five years.
He said that on Gelephu to Kokrajhar cross-border railway which is 70km distance, the Final Location Survey (FLS) is currently underway.
Lyonpo D.N Dhungyel said, “The survey is being conducted by Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) of India, in consultation with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MoIT). Currently, the drawing and design of the railway link are in progress.”
He also said that on the Samtse-Banarhat cross-border railway of 16 km, MoIT is carrying out studies on the best option for the railway alignment with Samtse in consultation of NFR.
NFR has proposed two locations for the termination point which are being studied further by the government agencies.
The ongoing feasibility studies or surveys and consequent detailed project reports are expected to be completed within this year.
Once the final studies are completed and construction begins, the railway links are expected to be established within five years.
