West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday said that work on several railway projects in the state deserves to be completed $1 lakh crore, which was delayed for several years under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime due to land shortage, will be resumed soon.
“The work is worth more than $1 lakh crore will be implemented in the railway sector in West Bengal. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnau assured me that the funds are ready. The list includes modernization of 102 stations under the Amrut Bharat station scheme, construction of 538 flyovers and underpasses, expansion of Kolkata Metro and expansion of railways in areas that are still not on the railway map. Adhikari said that the previous TMC government did not cooperate or respond to the Railway Ministry.
Adhikari held a high-level meeting with Vaishnau at the state secretariat on Saturday. Senior bureaucrats and senior railway officials attended the meeting.
“Many railway projects in the state have been suspended for many years. The previous government was in a war-like situation with the railways. The state-central relationship has reached rock bottom,” he added.
“The center has been allocated $14,205 crore for the railway sector in West Bengal for the financial year 2026-27. The previous TMC government never granted permission to operate. Leaving aside the permission, the situation has been such that the TMC government has moved the Calcutta High Court and the High Court in some cases, like the Kolkata Metro expansion work in Chengrigata. “That was their way of thinking and working,” Vaishnau said.
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The Sevok-Rangpo railway project, which is crucial for both connectivity and national security, was delayed for many years because the previous state government could not provide 20 acres of land, a senior state government official said.
“More than 70 projects related to over-bridge and under-bridge railways have been stalled as the state did not grant NOC. There was no need to acquire land for these projects. The chief minister said the state government should clear these projects within 48 hours,” Chief Secretary Manoj Agarwal said.
Adhikari directed government and district officials to prepare a calendar for handing over land to the Railways to complete pending projects and expand cooperation with the Railways.
“West Bengal will get a high-speed train connecting Siliguri in North Bengal with Delhi via Lucknow, Varanasi and Patna. At least 60 next-generation trains will be introduced in Kolkata Metro in the next five years. People can travel from Siliguri to Delhi in six hours,” Vaishnau said. He also took the Kolkata Metro and interacted with passengers.
