India Plans 500 km Rail Expansion Along Northeastern Frontier

18 Sep 2025 CW Team

India is set to strengthen its northeastern frontier with the construction of 500 kilometres of new rail lines, including bridges and tunnels, to improve connectivity, accelerate logistics, and ensure military readiness along borders with China, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Bhutan. The project is expected to cost Rs 300 billion ($3.4 billion) and is targeted for completion within four years.

Though relations with China have recently improved, the infrastructure push reflects India’s long-term contingency planning amid a history of cycles of rapprochement and tension. The new rail corridors will complement nearly 10,000 kilometres of highways already built over the past decade, with a further 5,055 kilometres under construction.

The logistics upgrade will enhance civilian access, improve emergency response times, and strengthen strategic mobility for defence forces. India has also reactivated Advance Landing Grounds in its northeastern territories for military aircraft and helicopters, some of which had been dormant since 1962. Additional rail lines near the disputed China-India border in Ladakh are also under consideration.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has prioritised connectivity in sensitive regions, including 1,450 kilometres of new roads along the Pakistan border and upgrades near Doklam, a plateau contested by China and Bhutan. Earlier this year, he inaugurated the world’s tallest railway bridge linking the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India. Over the past decade, India has added 1,700 kilometres of rail lines in the northeast to reduce troop mobilisation times and enhance logistical depth.

China has simultaneously expanded its dual-use infrastructure, including airports and heliports, to strengthen the People’s Liberation Army’s mobility following the 2017 Doklam standoff.

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18 Sep 2025

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