Transcript of Special Briefing on new Railway projects between India and Bhutan (September 29, 2025)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Namaskar, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I warmly welcome you to this special press briefing by Honorable Minister for Railways, Information Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw. He's also joined by Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri, as also by Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, Shri Satish Kumar.

This press briefing is on the upcoming railway link projects between India and Bhutan. With that, I first invite Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Mishra for his remarks to lay the broad landscape of this conversation with all of you. Sir, the floor is yours.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:Thank you, Randhir. Good afternoon, all. Honorable Minister of Railways, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw ji; Chairman, Railway Board, friends. It's a privilege to be here and to join the Railway Minister on the occasion of this very important briefing on a major new initiative between India and Bhutan on the establishment of rail connectivity between our two countries.

Let me take the opportunity before the substantive briefing to set the context, and say a few words about the relationship between India and Bhutan. As you are all aware, India and Bhutan share a relationship of exceptional trust, mutual respect, and understanding. This is a relationship that is rooted in cultural and civilizational ties, extensive people-to-people relations, and our shared developmental and security interests.

These ties are reflected in very close contact at the highest levels. You would perhaps recall that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Bhutan last year in March 2024. A visit during which he was conferred the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, which is the highest civilian award of Bhutan. His Majesty, the King of Bhutan, and the Prime Minister of Bhutan have been visiting India regularly. His Majesty the King was here earlier for attending the Mahakumbh, and the Prime Minister was here just a few weeks ago to attend the consecration of the Bhutanese temple in Rajgir.

On the bilateral relationship itself, the Government of India has been Bhutan's largest provider of developmental assistance and has played a vital role in its modernization, especially in the areas of infrastructure and the overall economic development of the country. For the 13th five-year plan of Bhutan, which runs from 2024 to 2029, the Government of India has committed a support of Rs. 10,000 crores, which covers project-tied assistance, high-impact community development projects, the economic stimulus program, and a program grant. And this quantum constitutes a 100% increase over the 12th five-year plan figures.

Just a few words about some of the major areas of cooperation. Energy and power is one of the highlights of this particular relationship. Our two governments have successfully collaborated on joint development of five hydroelectric projects. These are Chukha, Tala, Mangdechhu, Kurichhu, and the Punatsangchhu II, which has just been completed very, very recently.

In addition, Punatsangchhu I is under construction. Apart from this, there are Indian private companies now that are engaging with Bhutanese authorities to develop power projects in Bhutan.

In so far as trade is concerned, India is Bhutan's top trading partner. We are the principal source of imports and the principal destination of their exports, accounting for nearly 80% of Bhutan's total trade. The 2016 bilateral agreement on trade, commerce, and transit establishes a free trade agreement between Bhutan and India, and also provides Bhutan duty-free transit for goods from and to third countries.

In so far as connectivity is concerned, this is a priority for both countries. You will hear more about it today, as I said, in the area of rail connectivity. But we have worked very closely together on road connectivity, establishing integrated checkposts and trade routes, new immigration points, as well as digital connectivity. Recently, in order to facilitate the movement of third country nationals, an integrated check post was inaugurated at Darranga in Assam in November 2024. And we feel that Bhutan will also benefit from the development of the Jogighopha Inland Waterways Transport Terminal. This was inaugurated this year in February. In the digital domain, both the RuPay card and the BHIM UPI application have been launched in Bhutan.

Some of you who are following developments in Bhutan closely would be aware that the Government there is developing the Gelephu Mindfulness City project bordering Assam. This is an initiative under the direct guidance of His Majesty, the King of Bhutan. It is envisaged as an economic hub connecting Bhutan with South Asia and Southeast Asia.

It's a flagship initiative of the country. And the Government of India has conveyed its support to this initiative. Similarly, Samtse, which borders West Bengal, is being developed as an important industrial town in Bhutan for manufacturing and export. And these links that are being worked on will be critical for enhancing cargo and passenger movement.

So, it is in this context of this very, very special relationship that the two governments have agreed to establish two cross-border rail links between Banarhat and Samtse and Kokrajhar and Gelephu. This will be the first set of rail connectivity projects with Bhutan. The Memorandum of Understanding for this connectivity was actually signed during the visit of the Prime Minister to Bhutan that I mentioned a short while ago. The one that took place last year. And this MoU will be formally signed later today in New Delhi on the occasion of the visit of the Bhutanese Foreign Secretary to New Delhi.

Let me stop there.

And I'll request the Honorable Rail Minister to brief you on the details of this very, very important project.

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology:Thank you, Mr. Misri.

This project is basically connecting two very important cities of Bhutan. One is Gelephu, as Foreign Secretary shared with us. This is being developed as a mindfulness city. And second is Samtse, which is an industrial city. The two projects will take off from the network of Indian railways at Kokrajhar and Banarhat. The investment which is envisaged at this point of time is about 4,033 crore rupees. And the total length is about 90 kilometers. To be precise, 89 kilometers of railway network will be created.

As Foreign Secretary very nicely explained, 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 a good seamless rail connectivity for the Bhutanese economy to grow, and for the people to have better ways of access to the global network. So that's why this entire project has been taken up. And Samtse and Gelephu, they have very important significance in the way the Bhutanese economic growth is being planned.

If you look at the railway network, this is the current railway network. The yellow line that you see in between the two blue lines, that is the most important economic corridor, rail corridor, connecting states of Assam, then down south towards Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya. All the states are getting connected by this yellow line. There is a blue line on the top. That line is now getting developed as a major corridor along the northern border. And that line basically provides alternative connectivity. And it's a very, very important project.

So the takeoff of these two projects will happen, one at Banarhat, from that blue line that you see. That goes all the way to Samtse. And the other one from Kokrajhar, that will go to Gelephu. These are the two lines, if you look at the map. And they connect two different parts of Bhutan. Both Samtse has big industrial potential. It's developing every day. New projects are coming up. And Gelephu is a new city which is getting developed.

I'll come to these two projects one by one. Kokrajhar to Gelephu is … if you look at this … New Bongaigaon is a major industrial center in India, where it is getting connected. Kokrajhar is the region station. And then it gets connected to the entire Indian railway network. So, in a sense, by constructing about some 70 kilometers, you get the advantage of 150,000 kilometers of railway network. That is the advantage which comes by the network effect.

This is a more detailed map of this alignment. There are many bridges and many stations. There are six stations, two important bridges, two viaducts, which means the entire section is elevated, 29 major bridges, 65 minor bridges, two good shed will be developed. There is one flyover and 39 underpasses. The construction period will be about four years for this project. All the land schedules, everything has already been done. A lot of homework has already gone in to reach this level. And very soon, we'll start the construction work.

Basically, this will provide a lot of economic benefits to the people, both in terms of tourism, in terms of industrial growth, in terms of people-to-people movement, goods movement. Practically, every benefit that railway brings will happen with this.

The second project is taking off from that upper line that you were seeing. Banarhat to Samtse is the second line. Again, it's a very important project. Because, this connects the industrial city of Samtse. This is a more detailed map of this alignment.

On the existing railway line, we'll also have two small cord lines, so that the movement can happen on both sides of the train seamlessly. This is something that we have started doing in practically all parts of the country, because this improves the mobility. Again, this 20-kilometer project will have two stations, one major bridge, 24 minor bridges, one flyover, and 37 underpasses. This is about 577 crores, and this will take about three years.

Huge benefit to the people of Bhutan. The entire area will get connected. And lots of goods movement, which takes days today, will start happening in few hours. We have seen in Mizoram, it used to take four or five days for a cement truck or steel or any other goods truck to reach the capital Aizawl. Now that's happening in a few hours. So, that kind of benefit will come. Just like in case of Srinagar, we have seen that the time for goods shrinks from days to hours. So, that is the benefit which will happen for Samtse as well as Gelephu.

This is one of the promises we had made, and we are delivering on this promise.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:Thank you, Sir. With that, we now open the floor for questions. Please do introduce yourself and your organization before you ask your question.

Unidentified Speaker:My question is for the strategic importance of this project.

Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News:Sir, Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News se. Mera sawal ye hain ki jo dono rail line hain ismei Bhutan ke ander kitna hissa hoga aur India ke ander kitna hissa hoga dono railway line ka? Aur donon hi kya teen saal ke bhitar puri hongi? Thank you.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Brahma Prakash Dubey from Zee News. My question is regarding the two railway lines. How much portion of them will fall within Bhutan and how much within India? And will both of them be completed within three years? Thank you.

Sidhant, WION:Sir, Sidhant from WION. My question is essentially how it will boost the connectivity prospects in that part of India and, of course, Bhutan. And the economic prospects as well. Any estimate of how it will increase the economic prospects in the region?

Rishabh, Times Now:Hello, Sir. Rishabh from Times Now. So my question is, we have similar arrangements with Nepal as well, where we are developing railway projects. What's the situation there? What's the latest there?

And also, when we are talking about India-Bhutan, so are we looking at only Goods, or will we also have ICPs, the integrated checkposts, via rail networks also for accommodating passengers and tourists to travel on these rail lines?

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology: In Banarhat - Samtse, Bhutanese side is about 2.13 kilometers. Indian side is about 17.42 kilometers, to be precise. In case of Gelephu, Bhutanese side is 2.39 kilometers. Indian side is 66.66 kilometers. Time taken will be … Samtse, will be about three years Gelephu will be four years.

Both Goods and Passengers will be using these two lines. This line will also have most advanced signaling systems that we are implementing everywhere in the country, and this will be designed for running Vande Bharat trains. So, modern trains will be run, fully electrified and the curves and all the technical parameters will be designed as per the Vande Bharat requirements. A lot of economic benefit as we explained but I will still pass on to Foreign Secretary for the strategic importance of these two projects.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:Thank you, Sir. Look, as we have already pointed out, this is the first ever rail connectivity project or projects that we are developing with Bhutan. So, it will obviously enhance overall connectivity between the two countries.

The two areas that have been picked are both significant in themselves. I already mentioned the importance of Gelephu, which is the centerpiece of the Gelephu Mindfulness City project, strategic and visionary project conceived of by His Majesty the King of Bhutan, and something that we have expressed our support for.

And, this is a project that is envisaged as an economic hub for that part of Bhutan, and naturally because it borders on to Assam, that whole region, Assam is the border … there will obviously be an economic spin-off effect in the entire region, and the rail network will be an important part of that.

Similarly, on Samtse, as the Honorable Minister also explained, it is being developed as a major important industrial town in Bhutan focused on manufacturing, on export. Some of the potential exports from Bhutan to India from this area will involve dolomite, ferro-silicon, quartzite and stone chips. And you referred to the utility, it will be for both cargo and passenger movement.

At the end of the day, the strategic importance of these projects is also because they connect Bhutanese goods and cargo movement to the vast Indian railway cargo movement. It is an accepted principle of transport economics that railway movement of cargo is far more economical as compared to road movement of cargo. And to the extent that we are going to be able to extend rail cargo movement to Bhutanese imports as well as exports, it will obviously contribute to their figures and bottom lines as well.

In so far as ICPs are concerned, I mentioned already that there are initiatives underway to develop ICPs on the Indian side. These will of course require mirror ICPs on the Bhutanese side. But, I can share with you that the Land Ports Authority of India is working on, and has prioritized the development of several ICPs on the India-Bhutan border. And, we are actually in close touch. As the rail network starts getting developed, you will see work take place on the development of these new ICPs as well.

Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist:Kadambini Sharma, Independent Journalist. Sir, given the sensitivities of environmental issues by Bhutan, were there any concerns raised? and how were they addressed?

Unidentified Speaker: Sir, the total investment that you mentioned is from the Indian side. What sort of investment will be there from the Bhutan side? And from the security perspective, any special arrangement that will be done?

Sushil Raghav, Jansatta:Sir, main Sushil Raghav hoon Jansatta se. Mera bhi sawal yehi hai ki kya Bhutan se isme funding hogi, agar kuch hogi to kitni?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Susheel Raghav from Jansatta. My question is also be on the same lines. Will Bhutan be providing any funding for this project, and if so, how much?

Manohar Kesari, NewsX / India News: Hi Sir, Manohar Kesari from NewsX and India News. Sir, Bhutan aur India ke beech jo rail line connectivity shuru ho rahi hai, isme technology ka istemal Indian railway ki aur se hogi ya kisi aur country se lenge?

Saath hi sath dono ka jo budget allocation hai, sir. Kya dono desh isko share karne ja rahe hai?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Hi Sir, this is Manohar Kesri from NewsX and India News. Regarding the rail connectivity project starting between Bhutan and India, will the technology be provided by Indian Railways, or will it be sourced from another country? Also, about the budget allocation-will both countries be sharing the costs?

Tripti Nath, Independent Journalist:Thank you, Mr. Jaiswal. My name is Tripti Nath. I'm an independent journalist. My question is to Mr. Vaishnaw. This sounds like a very promising railway network project that is being developed between India and Bhutan. But, I'm plain curious. Are these coaches ... You talked of the technical parameters which will be designed as per Vande Bharat. It's also a fantastic train. But I just want to understand are the coaches going to be made in India?

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology: The environmental issues have been very carefully considered. A lot of studies have happened over the past few years. Each and every parameter has been very, very carefully studied. Especially, because the entire north-eastern region, we have seen the kind of issues that we face day in and day out. So, over a period of last few decades, our work in north-eastern states has given us that capability to understand the environmental issues and plan accordingly. That is one.

Each and every part has been considered and very proper design has happened, considering the environmental issues. Especially climate resilience, for example, flow of water; have sufficient number of underpasses; make sure that elephants can pass under the railway tracks. All those things have been considered while designing this.

Second, this entire investment is done by Indian side. And, most of the part of the railway network which is within the Indian territory, that is part of the Indian railway network. And the part which is within Bhutan, there is a kind of arrangement between India and Bhutan where the investment is being made by India. The technology is all Indian. Coaches will be made in India. And it's basically well-established technology which we are going to use here.

The security arrangement will be done in consultation with the operational requirements of both the countries. We will try to have as many people as possible from Bhutan side to be trained in railway operations, so that they also become part of the entire network, the way we have done in case of Nepal also.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: I will just add that, insofar as the question related to funding was concerned, as the Honorable Minister has explained, the segment of the respective railway links that falls within Indian territory will be funded by the Ministry of Railways. And, the segments for both the links that will fall within Bhutanese territory will be borne by the Ministry of External Affairs as part of the Government of India's assistance for Bhutan's 13th Five-Year Plan.

Jugal Purohit, BBC:Hi, sir. My name is Jugal from the Collective Newsroom for the BBC. Sir, my question is … you mentioned about the 10,000 crore rupee, I think, development budget / fund for the Bhutanese nation. I just want to understand, whether this budget is part of the 10,000 crores or will that be separate?

And, sir, in terms of the trade as of today that is happening between India and Bhutan, can you give us some context on the number of … the goods that are being traded and through what points? Thank you.

Uma Shankar Singh, Independent Journalist:Uma Shankar Singh, independent journalist. Ye bahut hi ek aham pariyojana hai jiska yahan elan kiya ja raha hai. Mera sawal ye hai ki jis tarah se humne pichle kuch dashakon mein ya kuch salon mein dekha hai ki China ne Tibet mein aap chahe wo Sikkim ho, chahe wo Bhutan ho ya fir Arunachal ho, seemavarti ilaakon tak rail pariyojana lekar wo aaya hai. To kya is pariyojana ko uske counter ek major ke tor pe bhi dekha jaye ya fir ye sirf Bharat aur Bhutan ke beech dwipkshi sambandhon ke lihaaz se isko dekha jaye?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Uma Shankar Singh, independent journalist. This is a very significant project being announced here today. My question is: over the past few decades or years, we have seen China extend railway projects right up to border areas in Tibet-be it Sikkim, Bhutan, or Arunachal. In that context, should this project be viewed as a countermeasure to that, or purely as part of the bilateral relations between India and Bhutan?

Raghavendra Verma, ZDF:This is Raghavendra Verma from German television ZDF. Sir, my question is about, do we have a reaction from Bhutan also? How does Bhutan feel about it, and what are their priorities and how they were seeing this line coming?

And secondly, in Bhutan, it's only small portion of these railways that go in. So, were these two projects entirely dependent on Bhutan to be part of it or could India had already built those lines to the nearest border region of these two places, and this could have been earlier? Why was it dependent on that portion of Bhutan?

Shailesh, National Defense: Thank you, Sir. I'm Shailesh from National Defense. Sir, may you please elaborate in case it's possible. Do we have some rare earth minerals deal with Bhutan; and is this project or I mean both these links, are they linked with this particular project, sir?

And the second, in case if you allow, the same one which Uma Shankar had just asked.

Mahesh Kejriwal, Loksatta Group: Thank you, sir. Mahesh Kejriwal from Loksatta Group. Mera sawal sir ye hai ki Bhutan aur China ke beech mein jo hai ki border ek issue aa raha hai. Toh aap log jo ye project shuru kar rahe hain, to Bhutan ki or se kya Bharat ke samaksh koi vishesh sharte rakhi gayi hai is project ko shuru karne ke pehle?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Thank you, Sir. Mahesh Kejriwal from the Loksatta Group. My question is: given the ongoing border issues between Bhutan and China, before launching this project, has Bhutan placed any specific conditions before India?

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Okay. So, as I explained, the portion that will be met by the Government of India for the segments that are within Bhutanese territory is part of the 13th five-year plan outlay that has been agreed of 10,000 crores with the Government of Bhutan.

On trade, I mentioned we are Bhutan's premier trade partner. Bhutan's merchandise trade with India saw a 12% increase between 2023 and 2024 from 11,305 crores to 12,670 crores. Bhutan's exports to India increased from 2,800 crores in 2023 to 3,100 crores in 2024, while their imports from India grew from 8,500 crore rupees to nearly 9,500 crore rupees during the same period. We are in discussions to actually renew the Bilateral Treaty of Trade, Commerce and Transit, which was signed in 2016 for a period of 10 years, and it will expire in July 2027, and we will discuss a renewal of that treaty.

On the question of involving Bhutan on this, I refer you to my opening remarks where I mentioned that this is all happening on the basis of an MoU between Bhutan and India that was signed on the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit to Bhutan last year in March 2024. Again, as I pointed out, this MoU will formally be signed later this afternoon in New Delhi between the Chairman of the Railway Board on the Indian side and the Bhutanese Foreign Secretary on the other side. That, I think, should answer the question about what is the involvement of Bhutan in this.

Let me just make a general point that when it comes to infrastructure projects, India's guiding principle and fundamental approach has been that we do infrastructure projects only those ones that our partner countries are comfortable with. We are driven by the priorities of our partner countries. We are not driven by our supply necessities.

On the issue of rare earths, I am not aware if there is any discussion on rare earths related to this particular project.

Kuch prashn the jo Bhutan aur kisi teesre desh ko leke the ki unka isme kya involvement hai. Aap jante hain jahan tak is border ka sawal hai jahan se ye train lines ja rahi hain, isme kisi teesre desh ka koi involvement nahi hai, toh I think this question is a bit superfluous at this point in time.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi]There were some questions regarding Bhutan and a third country, about what their involvement might be. As you know, when it comes to the border-specifically the areas through which these railway lines will pass-there is no involvement of any third country. So, I think this question is a bit superfluous at this point in time.

In any case, I should underline that this is a rail connectivity project and it is therefore of the utmost bilateral importance to the two countries. Thank you.

Ileana, TASS News Agency: Good afternoon. Ileana from TASS News Agency. Do you consider, maybe not now, but gradually while you will develop this project, participation of some third country? As I am from Russian media, I wonder if participation of Russia is possible.

And, perhaps if Honorable Minister answers my question, what are the projects with Russia which are now already on or under consideration? Thank you.

Unidentified Speaker:Main … (unclear audio) Abhinav Varta se hoon. Main ye jaanna chah raha tha is project mein kab se kaam shuru hone wala hai? Aur isme jo paisa kharch kiya ja raha hai, kya India ki taraf se pura paisa kharch kiya ja raha hai project mein ya Bhutan bhi is pe kuch sahyog kar raha hai?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]I wanted to know when the work on this project is expected to begin. Also, regarding the money being spent, is the entire cost of the project being borne by India, or is Bhutan also contributing to it in some way?

Niraj Dubey, Prabhasakshi: Sir, Namaskar. Mein Niraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir, jo is rail project ke liye kya Bhutanese nagrikon ko rail mantralay koi skill development ka koi course karayega, unko training dega? Aur dusra kya isme koi uh world bank ya ADB aur kisi antar rashtriy vitti sansthan bhi koi sahyog kar raha hai kya is project mein?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Namaskar. I am Niraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. Sir, regarding this rail project, will the Ministry of Railways be conducting any skill development courses or training programs for Bhutanese citizens? And secondly, is the World Bank, the ADB, or any other international financial institution also providing support for this project?

Dhruvaksh Saha, Business Standard:Hi sir, this is Dhruvaksh, from Business Standard. Just wanted to understand a bit of the rationale on electrification of the project in the sense that there is … while it's appreciable that Vande Bharat trains and modern trains are expected to be run. The experience in electrification in Northeast has rather been a slow one, and this is being seen as some sort of precedent as to how these challenges will come up.

And, second in strategic areas there is a school of thought that more diesel locomotives and more diesel rolling stock would be beneficial in strategic border areas. So, in the view of these two considerations just wanted to understand the rationale behind electrification of these lines.

Sachin Budholiya, Hindustan Samachar: Sir, mera naam Sachin Budholiya hain. Main Hindustan Samachar se hoon. Mera sawal ye hai ki Bhutan aur India ek BBIN network ka part hai, jo connectivity ka project tha. Toh Bhutan agar aage aane wale dino mein iske partner countries, vishesh roop se Nepal ya Bangladesh ke sath mein agar trade karna chahta hai, toh kya hamara ye jo connectivity hai … to Indian Rail ki connectivity kya usko un deshon ke sath vyapar ki suvidha dega, vishesh roop se Bangladesh?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, my name is Sachin Budholiya. I am from Hindustan Samachar. My question is that Bhutan and India are part of a BBIN network, which is a connectivity project. So, if Bhutan in the coming days wishes to trade with its partner countries, especially Nepal or Bangladesh, will our connectivity - specifically Indian Rail connectivity - facilitate trade with those countries, particularly with Bangladesh?

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology:About involvement of Russia, I don't think we have any proposal as far as I know. But if any proposal comes, we will examine it. I think we are self-sufficient in the technology, both on the construction as well as the trainset side. So at this point of time, there is no such consideration.

The project will start very soon. The land schedules, everything, all the permissions, they are all in the works. And land acquisition will start very rapidly. The government of Assam also is very cooperative. They are supporting us in starting this project.

Funding as was mentioned earlier, very clearly the funding for the portion within India is out of the Indian Railway's budget. And the funding for the portion which is within Bhutan will be out of MEA's budget, MEA's grants to Bhutan, as FS has already explained.

We will be training the people who are interested in railways within Bhutan. As you know, we have Gatishakti Vishwavidyalaya, one of the finest transportation universities which is getting developed. And, there we are already running courses for people from many other countries now. So, this will also be part of the program.

We don't have any World Bank or ADB requirement in this, and I don't think they have given any proposal so far. So we are not even considering that.

A very important question about electrification, I think that question needs to be discussed in a bit of detail. If we compare the environmental issues between diesel and electrified railway network. Electrified railway network is about 98% less polluting, considering even the pollution at the source, considering everything. Even, pollution at the source of generation of electricity. It is 98% less polluting compared to diesel.

And, when you compare road with rail, then diesel on both sides, diesel road versus diesel rail, that is 95%. So net-net, if you compare with a diesel truck on a highway to an electrical train, then the difference is 99 point some percent. So, it is practically pollution free. So, it is very important that in the economically and environmentally sensitive areas, we should always focus on electrification.

Your point about electrification in northeast no longer holds valid. Practically, entire network is getting electrified. Almost 99% of the network is already electrified, and all new projects are starting with electrification, ab initio. Like your generation is born with mobile phones. It is like that kind of thing. So, it is absolutely fine.

Diesel can always run even if the network is electrified. So diesel, we keep strategic reserve of about 2500 locomotives, especially in case of disasters, in case of climate issues, in case of other things. So, diesel will remain as a significant base. It is not base load, it is more like as an extra reserve. When you need, diesel locomotives can be run. So I hope that answers your query.

About Bangladesh…

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:Ji aapka jo prashan tha BBIN ko leke. Aap sahi keh rahe hai ki Bharat aur Bhutan, Nepal aur Bangladesh ke beech ye ek samjhota hai. Toh mere vichar mein jahan tak is project ka prashn hai, aapko malum hoga ki dono Nepal aur Bangladesh ke sath hamare samjhote hain jiske tahat Nepal aur Bangladesh ke jo exports aur imports hain unka wo bhartiya territory ka istemaal karte hain transit ke liye, doosri country mein export karne ke liye aur third countries mein export karne ke liye bhi.

Toh abhi to vo jo bharat ka road network hai aur kuch jo rail network hai uska istemaal karte hain. Lekin in do projects se, jo bhutan ek tarah se bhartiya rail network se jud jaayega. Toh in dono jo baaki desh hain-nepal aur bangladesh-unke jo bhi exports bhutan jaane honge to vo bhi ek tarah se bhartiya rail network ka istemaal kar sakte hain Bhutan mein apne exports bhejne ka aur vahan se Bhutan ke exports ko apne yahan laane ke liye.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Yes, regarding your question about BBIN, you are correct that India, Bhutan, Nepal, and Bangladesh have an agreement. In my view, as far as this project is concerned, you would know that we already have agreements with both Nepal and Bangladesh under which their exports and imports use Indian territory for transit - to export to each other, and to export to third countries as well.

At present, they use India's road network and some of its rail network. However, with these two projects, Bhutan will, in a way, be connected to the Indian rail network. This means that any exports from Nepal and Bangladesh going to Bhutan will also be able to use this Indian rail connectivity, to send their exports to Bhutan and to bring Bhutan's exports here.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the close of this special briefing. We thank you for your presence and participation. And we also thank Honorable Minister, Foreign Secretary, and Chairman of Railway Board for their presence.

Thank you very much.

New Delhi
September 29, 2025