Guwahati bullet train: Himanta flags chicken’s neck challenge, says underground or elevated route may be needed

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said the proposed bullet train connectivity to Guwahati could require a specialised engineering solution to cross the narrow Siliguri Corridor, popularly known as the Chicken’s Neck, with options including an underground or elevated railway line.

Welcoming the approval of the bullet train route connecting Guwahati, Sarma said the inclusion of the city in the high-speed rail network was a major development, but several technical and logistical details were yet to be worked out.

“The first good news is that now Guwahati has been put on the map. But the details have to be worked out,” he said.

The Chief Minister pointed out that the Siliguri Corridor, which connects the Northeast with the rest of the country, is only around 22 km wide at its narrowest stretch, with some sections measuring just 16 km. With an existing national highway and railway line already passing through the corridor, creating a separate track for bullet trains could pose a significant engineering challenge.

“The bullet train cannot run on the present railway lines. It has to be a completely separate railway line,” Sarma said.

He said the government would need clarity on whether the proposed line would pass through the Chicken’s Neck underground or overground, given the limited availability of land in the strategically important corridor.

“Whether the Chicken’s Neck will be crossed through underground or overground, all these details have to be worked out,” he said.

Sarma added that the construction would involve substantially higher investment if the project required underground or elevated infrastructure rather than a conventional ground-level railway corridor.

He said he would meet Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his next visit to Delhi to seek clarity on the technical aspects of the project.

The Chief Minister said the proposal had initially faced concerns over the feasibility of extending the bullet train corridor beyond Siliguri to Guwahati. However, following his discussions with Vaishnaw and his request to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the proposal to include Guwahati had received approval.

“Initially, they said it may not be possible. But after I met Ashwini Vaishnaw and requested the Prime Minister, they have now agreed that it will come to Guwahati,” he said.

Sarma described the decision as a significant and courageous step, crediting Prime Minister Modi and the Railway Minister for approving the extension to Assam.

He said the project would require detailed planning and substantial financial investment, particularly if the alignment through the Siliguri Corridor involved specialised construction technology.

The Chief Minister, however, did not provide a timeline for construction or details of the final alignment, saying these would become clearer after further discussions with the Railway Ministry.