Assam BJP Hails Historic Announcement to Quadruple the Guwahati–Delhi Railway Corridor
By Dalim Phukan
Guwahati /Assam, Aug 27 : Ever since the NDA Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office at the Centre, Assam and the entire North-Eastern Region, along with the rest of the country, have witnessed an extraordinary acceleration in the march of development. Among the many spheres transformed during this period, the revolutionary expansion and modernisation of connectivity infrastructure across Assam and the North-East stands as one of the most remarkable achievements of the NDA Government.
In particular, the railway landscape of Assam has undergone a phenomenal transformation during the last twelve years. Adding yet another powerful impetus to this unprecedented journey of infrastructure development, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw yesterday announced that the existing double-line railway corridor connecting Guwahati with the national capital, Delhi, will be upgraded to a four-line corridor.
The Bharatiya Janata Party, Assam Pradesh, warmly welcomes this momentous and Assam-centric announcement by the Union Railway Minister. Addressing a press conference today at the State BJP Headquarters, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Bhawan, party spokesperson Kamal Kumar Medhi stated that the announcement of this ambitious new railway project has once again emphatically demonstrated the Narendra Modi-led Union Government’s unwavering commitment, sensitivity and development-oriented approach towards Assam.
There was once a time when Assam and the North-East remained at the distant margins of India’s connectivity architecture. Today, owing to the NDA Government’s determined and sustained developmental intervention, Assam is rapidly emerging as India’s strategic gateway to South-East Asia. There was also a time when Delhi appeared exceedingly distant from Assam.
That distance was not merely geographical, it was, even more painfully, psychological and developmental. The reason, according to the party, lay in the prolonged neglect and indifferent attitude towards Assam during the long years of Congress rule at the Centre. There was a period when Assam seemingly had to agitate even to secure its legitimate developmental requirements from the Union Government.
That era has decisively changed. After the NDA assumed office at the Centre, the North-East,once pushed to the periphery of the national developmental discourse,came to be celebrated as the nation’s “Ashtalakshmi.” In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of development, the message today resonates unmistakably: “A FOR ASSAM!”
Presenting figures highlighting the remarkable progress achieved in railway connectivity across Assam and the North-East during the last twelve years, spokesperson Kamal Kumar Medhi stated that during 2009–14, the railway budget allocation earmarked for Assam and the North-Eastern Region stood at merely ₹2,122 crore. In 2026–27, the corresponding allocation has risen to an impressive ₹11,486 crore—representing an annual allocation more than five times higher than that of the 2009–14 period. Similarly, during 2009–14, merely 333 kilometres of new railway lines were constructed.
In sharp contrast, during 2014–26, more than 1,900 kilometres of new railway tracks have been constructed across the North-Eastern Region. During the same period, the electrification of railway routes across Assam and the North-East has also been completed, marking another major milestone in the modernisation of the region’s railway infrastructure. The transformation, however, extends far beyond the laying of railway tracks. During the last twelve years, the Union Government, under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, has undertaken comprehensive infrastructure redevelopment and modernisation of 50 railway stations across Assam, giving them a distinctly modern and passenger-oriented character.
Furthermore, the NDA Government has substantially enhanced the quality and speed of railway services in Assam by introducing the Vande Bharat Express between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri, bringing modern high-speed rail connectivity to the region. Long-distance modern railway services such as the Amrit Bharat Express have likewise further strengthened Assam’s integration with the national railway network.
The completion of the Bogibeel rail connectivity project at an expenditure of ₹5,820 crore represents yet another landmark achievement. Through this strategically significant infrastructure, the NDA Government has not merely strengthened civilian transportation and connectivity; it has also considerably reinforced the strategic, defence and geopolitical significance of the North-Eastern Region.
The proposed four-tracking of the Guwahati–Delhi railway corridor therefore represents far more than another infrastructure announcement. It stands as another emphatic milestone in the transformation of a region that was once perceived as India’s distant frontier into a dynamic engine of growth, strategic connectivity and India’s gateway towards South-East Asia.
