The Centre on Monday announced two cross-border railway projects of 69-km and 20-km length that will connect Bhutan with the bordering areas of Assam and West Bengal.The 69-km Kokrajhar (Assam)-Gelephu (Bhutan) and 20-km Banarhat (West Bengal)-Samtse (Bhutan) will cost Rs 3,456 crore and Rs 577 crore, respectively.The details of the initiative were made public by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri at a media briefing.Vaishnaw said the projects are of great significance since Bhutan’s Gelephu is being developed as Mindfulness City and Samtse as an industrial town.“India is the largest trading partner of Bhutan and most of the EXIM trade of Bhutan is done through Indian Ports. Therefore it becomes very important to have seamless railway connectivity… On Kokrajhar-Gelephu line, there will be six stations, two important bridges, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, two goodsheds, one flyover and 39 underpasses. The construction period of the project is four years,” Vaishnaw said.The minister said the Banarhat-Samtse line will have two stations, one major bridge, 24 minor bridges, one overpass and 37 underpasses and it will be completed in three years. He said the Samtse line will cover 2.13 km of Bhutanese side and 17.42 km Indian side, while the Gelephu line will cover 2.39 km Bhutanese side and 66.66 km Indian side. “Both projects will facilitate movement of passengers and goods. It will provide better economic and employment opportunities for the people of the region,” Vaishnaw said.The minister said the lines will be fully electrified and well-equipped to run modern trains such as Vande Bharat, including an advanced signalling system. “All the environmental aspects of the project were carefully studied. The security arrangements will be made after mutual consultations, he said. “We will try to have as many people as possible from Bhutan to be trained in railway operations,” he said.Story continues below this adOn the strategic importance of the project, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that it will enhance overall connectivity between the two countries. “The two areas that have been picked are significant. Gelephu is the centerpiece of The Gelephu Mindfulness City. It is a strategic and visionary project conceived by the King of Bhutan and we have expressed our support for this. And this is a project which is envisaged as an economic hub for that part of Bhutan. Since Assam is on its border, the project will have a spinoff effect for the entire region,” said Misri.On the second project connecting Samtse, a town which is being developed as a major industrial hub, Misri said, “Some of the potential exports from this area to India will be dolomite, ferro-silicon, quartzite and stone chips. It is an accepted principle of transport economics that railway movement of cargo is far more economic than roads.”The Foreign Secretary said the segment of the project falling on the Indian side will be funded by the Railways ministry and the line on Bhutan side will be taken care of under the support for Bhutan’s 13th Five Year Plan from India. He said there was no involvement of any third country when asked if China was involved in the project.Both the cross-border projects are result of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bhutan in March 2024, when a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries. India has been Bhutan’s largest provider of developmental assistance. For the 13th Five Year Plan of Bhutan, which runs between 2024-29, India has committed a support of Rs 10,000 crore, which covers project-tied assistance, high-impact community development projects, the economic stimulus program, and a program grant.Story continues below this adIndia is Bhutan’s top trading partner as the principal source of import and the main destination of their exports, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of Bhutan’s total trade.