India plans to invest as much as 450 billion rupees ($4.7 billion) into railway upgrades along its borders with China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to people familiar with the move, marking one of its most significant strategic infrastructure pushes amid shifting regional dynamics.
The spending — set to unfold over the next 18 to 24 months — will help build new tracks, platforms and strengthen networks across Punjab, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and several northeastern states, the people said, asking not to be identified because the discussions are private.
The border-state program represents about 22% of all railway infrastructure outlay planned over the next two years, underscoring the scale of the effort, the people said.
The latest plan shows that the Narendra Modi-led administration’s vision to build border-area infrastructure goes beyond the $3.4 billion spending Bloomberg News had reported in September for constructing rail lines, including bridges and tunnels, in the northeastern parts of the country.
The focus on frontier connectivity comes as India recalibrates its posture across sensitive borders where relationships are moving in different directions: ties with China have steadied after a deadly clash six years ago, it engaged in a brief conflict with Pakistan last year, and Bangladesh’s political upheaval in 2024 has complicated a previously stable partnership.
India’s railway ministry did not respond to an email seeking comments on the investment plan.
The investment push will help create dual-use infrastructure — civilian railways that also support military logistics — while also improving connectivity in historically underdeveloped border regions.
By bolstering high-capacity, all-weather rail networks into vulnerable frontiers like the Himalayas, the Siliguri Corridor, and the northeastern states, New Delhi is systematically reducing troop mobilization times while securing critical supply-line redundancy against regional rivals.
Prime Minister Modi has already prioritized connectivity in sensitive zones, including 1,450 kilometers of new roads along the Pakistan border and upgrades near Doklam, a plateau near the Indian border claimed by both China and Bhutan. Last year, he inaugurated the world’s tallest railway bridge connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
In the northeast, the administration has added about 1,700 kilometers of rail lines over the past decade, the people said.
India has also reactivated airside infrastructure such as Advance Landing Grounds — which have been dormant since 1962 — for helicopter and military aircraft use in its northeastern territories, the people said.
China, meanwhile, has accelerated its own build-out since an earlier 2017 military stand-off over Doklam, constructing dual-use infrastructure such as airports and heliports.
Its expansion has bolstered the People’s Liberation Army’s logistics capabilities through faster equipment and troops movement.
