India is moving ahead with plans for the 489-kilometre Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line, a major infrastructure project estimated to cost ₹1.31 lakh crore. The Ministry of Railways has completed the final location surveys and prepared the Detailed Project Report (DPR), marking a significant step towards implementation.

Designated a strategic rail corridor by the Ministry of Defence, the line is intended to provide all-weather logistics connectivity to Ladakh along India’s northern frontier. The project is expected to strengthen military mobility while also enhancing civilian transport links to one of the country’s most remote regions.

Among its most notable features is a proposed railway station near Tanglang La pass at an altitude of about 5,256 metres (17,244 feet). If completed as planned, it would overtake China’s Tanggula station, situated at 5,068 metres on the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, to become the highest railway station in the world.

The route presents some of the most demanding engineering challenges ever attempted in India. To negotiate the Himalayan landscape, steep gradients and areas prone to heavy snowfall, more than half of the alignment, approximately 270 kilometres, will run through tunnels.

The broad-gauge railway will begin at Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh and pass through Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Sarchu and Upshi before reaching Leh. The alignment is designed to improve year-round accessibility across terrain that is frequently affected by harsh weather conditions.

Once completed, the line is expected to become one of the world’s most ambitious mountain railway projects, improving connectivity, supporting economic development, boosting tourism and significantly enhancing India’s strategic transport infrastructure in the Himalayan region.

Agencies