Bullet Train To Siliguri: Gamechanger For Chicken's Neck

West Bengal is set to benefit from the first high-speed rail service in eastern India linking Siliguri to Varanasi, which is expected to improve inter-regional mobility. Once completed, it would just take three hours to travel from Varanasi to Siliguri.

19 May 2026, 14:20 · www.ndtv.com

The announcement of the Bullet Train to Siliguri has left many wondering why West Bengal's capital Kolkata has been left out when it comes to a bullet train project. The answer is simple: Geography, strategy and economic growth of the region. With the election of the new BJP government, key infra projects in the region will move faster.

Siliguri, located on the Chicken's Neck (Siliguri Corridor) is a vital transit point and serves as the nation's only land link to India's northeastern states. All road and rail links to the northeast pass through this narrow stretch of land.

The Centre has said this high-speed line is planned to eventually extend to Assam capital Guwahati, which will improve direct connectivity between mainland India and the 'Ashta Lakshmi' states of the northeast.

West Bengal is also set to benefit from the first high-speed rail service in eastern India linking Siliguri to Varanasi, which is expected to improve inter-regional mobility and expand trade and service opportunities.

Once the project is completed, it would just take three hours to travel from Varanasi to Siliguri.

Speaking to NDTV, former Foreign Secretary and BJP MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla highlighted the importance of the Siliguri region. Located in Bengal's Darjeeling district, the area is perhaps one of the most vulnerable regions in the entire country.

"This is a stretch of land that connects the northeast of the country with the rest of India. It is a very narrow stretch of 22 km," he said.

The Lok Sabha constituency of Darjeeling is perhaps the only one in the world that has three international borders, he pointed out. "It links up with Nepal in the West, Bhutan in the East and Bangladesh on the South. You go a little up to the North and you will also come to the border with China," he added.

The state has already handed over 120 acres of land in Siliguri to the centre for facilitating construction of strategic infrastructure that will allow the Border Security Force to man the porous India-Bangladesh border more effectively.

Speaking about the strategic importance of the Varanasi-Siliguri High Speed Rail Corridor, Shringla said it is poised to catalyse seamless connectivity throughout north Bengal and the Northeast.

"Along with the Varanasi-Siliguri High-Speed Rail Corridor and a planned 40-km underground rail corridor, it will connect the northeast with the rest of the country," Shringla added.

"Working in tandem with the Delhi-Varanasi High-Speed Rail network, this initiative will reduce travel time between key economic and cultural centres, strengthen freight access and tourism flows and connects secondary cities along the route," Shringla pointed out.

"The realisation of this vital corridor is a testament to the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the strategic deployment of national budgetary resources," Shringla said.

There are other plans to bump up infrastructure in the area. Bagdogra Airport and the New Jalpaiguri Railway station are undergoing major upgrades for capacity expansion.

The New Civil Enclave at Bagdogra Airport, with an investment of Rs 1,549 crore, will feature a 70,390 square meter terminal designed to accommodate 3,000 Peak Hour Passengers and an annual capacity of 10 million passengers. This project includes the construction of an Apron with 10 parking bays for A-321 type aircraft, two link taxiways, and a Multi-Level Car Parking facility.

Backed by a Rs 3,000-crore central government sanction, the airport which serves Sikkim and North Bengal is all set to become a state-of-art airport by 2027.

Local business owners say the infrastructure and connectivity upgrades will change Siliguri from being a transit city to a powerful regional growth hub for Eastern India.

"As an entrepreneur from Siliguri, I see the bullet train project as a transformative opportunity for the region. Better connectivity can unlock tourism, trade, investments, jobs, and stronger links with the Northeast," Sasha Sharma, an entrepreneur from Siliguri, told NDTV.

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