India Plans Rs 1.31 Trillion Bilaspur-Leh Railway With Station Above China's Tanggula

A Himalayan railway with 270 kilometres of tunnels

India's proposed 489 kilometre Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway would put about 270 kilometres of track inside tunnels and could carry trains to a station 5,256 metres above sea level in Ladakh. The estimated cost is Rs 1.31 lakh crore, or Rs 1.31 trillion, for a route intended to improve civilian travel and military supply movements through some of the country's most difficult mountain terrain.

The proposed station near Tanglang La, referred to as Tengla, would stand about 188 metres above China's Tanggula station on the Qinghai-Tibet railway. Tanggula, at approximately 5,068 metres, currently holds the distinction of being the world's highest railway station.

India's Railway Ministry has completed a survey and prepared a detailed project report, known as a DPR. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw confirmed the report's completion in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, India's lower house of Parliament. Final construction approval remains pending, and no firm completion or opening date has been announced for the full Bilaspur-Leh line.

The practical ambition reaches beyond an altitude record. Ladakh relies heavily on mountain roads, where snowfall and difficult passes can interrupt journeys and freight deliveries. A railway could give residents, visitors and the armed forces another way to reach the region, provided its tunnels, stations and approaches can operate reliably through severe weather.

Where would the railway run?

The corridor would start at Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh and head towards Leh through the Manali region. Places identified along the proposed route include Sundernagar, Mandi, Kullu, Manali, Sissu, Keylong, Darcha, Sarchu, Pang, Rumtse, Upshi and Kharu. The final alignment and station arrangements will determine exactly how each place is served.

Private company teams have reportedly been marking the proposed alignment between Salapar in Mandi district and Sarchu in Lahaul-Spiti. Alignment work means identifying where the railway would pass across the ground so that engineers can examine the route in greater detail.

Bilaspur also provides the connection to another railway project already under construction: the Bhanupli-Bilaspur line, linking Bhanupli in Punjab with Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh. That line has been described as the initial connection needed for the larger ambition of taking trains towards Leh.

For passengers and businesses, the route's usefulness would depend on the connections it provides as much as the places it crosses. Reaching Bilaspur by rail and continuing towards Ladakh would require both the connecting infrastructure and the proposed mountain extension to be ready.

What has been completed, and what comes next?

The DPR sets out the proposed railway's engineering and estimated cost. A geological survey has also been conducted to assess the ground along the route. Such work helps planners identify where tunnels, bridges and track might be built and where difficult rock or unstable slopes require closer investigation.

Government approvals, investment decisions and further technical assessments remain necessary before the full extension can move into construction. The estimated Rs 1.31 trillion is the project's proposed cost, rather than a stated sum already spent.

The dated milestones and targets describe two connected projects at different stages:

• March 23, 2025: The DPR for the Bilaspur-Leh extension was described as complete, with its estimated cost put at Rs 1.31 lakh crore.
• November 10, 2026: A project update continued to describe the extension as proposed, with the survey and DPR ready and government approvals pending.
• 2027: The Bhanupli-Bilaspur connecting line was expected to be completed, according to the target described in March 2025.

The 2027 target applies to Bhanupli-Bilaspur. The much longer railway from Bilaspur to Leh has no announced opening timetable.

How high would the proposed station be?

Tengla station is proposed near Tanglang La, a high mountain pass on the Manali-Leh highway. Its elevation is generally given as 5,256 metres, or about 17,244 feet. Another published figure is 5,359 metres, although the accompanying figure of 17,244 feet converts to approximately 5,256 metres.

At the proposed elevation of 5,256 metres, the station would be 188 metres higher than Tanggula's 5,068 metres. That comparison concerns the height of a station above sea level. India's record would depend on the project being approved and the station being completed at the proposed elevation.

Extreme altitude also shapes the railway's design. Air pressure falls as elevation rises, leaving less oxygen available with each breath. Passengers, railway employees and construction workers would need protection from both the thin air and severe cold.

Plans have been described as including heated, pressurised passenger cabins and oxygen masks. Heating would address the cold, while pressure control and oxygen equipment would help manage conditions at high altitude. Detailed operating arrangements would need to form part of the railway's safety planning.

Why more than half the route would be underground

About 270 kilometres of the 489 kilometre corridor would run through tunnels. Dividing 270 by 489 gives roughly 55%, meaning more than half of a journey along the proposed line would take place underground.

The tunnel count is usually given as 62, while another description puts it at about 60. Either figure points to the same major engineering task: building and maintaining a long chain of passages through difficult Himalayan geology.

Railways need more gradual changes in slope than mountain roads can accommodate. Tunnels allow a line to pass through a ridge rather than climb over a high pass. They can also shelter sections of track from surface weather, although tunnel entrances and connecting stretches still need protection.

Engineers would have to account for earthquakes, avalanches, glaciers, freezing temperatures and the condition of the rock. Water entering a tunnel, unstable ground around an entrance or damage to a connecting section could affect services across a much longer stretch of railway.

A corridor intended to provide dependable access therefore needs more than strong tunnel walls. Geological investigation, drainage, safe access for maintenance and arrangements for responding to a blocked section would all matter to its operation.

What the IIT Mandi findings mean

A study by three academics from the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, published in Geodesy and Geodynamics on October 30, examined the proposed 275 kilometre Manali-Leh alignment, rather than the full 489 kilometre Bilaspur-Manali-Leh corridor. The alignment studied comprises 121 kilometres of open track and 154 kilometres of tunnels, with 62 planned structures and 15 proposed stations.

The researchers defined a 20-kilometre-wide study zone along the proposed route and assessed nine conditioning factors: elevation, slope, permafrost zonation index, distance to glaciers, distance to glacial lakes, distance to rivers, distance to lineaments, lithology and geomorphology.

The study places 7.96% of the proposed Manali-Leh route in zones of very high susceptibility, 20.28% in high susceptibility zones and 29.32% in moderate zones. The remaining 42.44% falls in low or very low susceptibility zones. Proposed stations at Chhuchot, Phe Yard, Debring, She Road and Darcha lie in high-susceptibility zones.

Taken together, the high and very high categories cover 28.24% of the alignment. Including the moderate category brings the share to 57.56%. These categories describe how prone the terrain is to instability and help identify places needing closer examination.

Permafrost, meaning ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years, is another concern. Changes in frozen ground can alter the support beneath infrastructure. Large temperature swings and changes affecting snow, ice and glaciers can also change conditions over the life of a railway.

The study examines cryospheric hazards, meaning hazards associated with the region's frozen environments, including landslides triggered by permafrost thaw, avalanches and glacial lake outburst floods. It warns that climate-driven changes to glaciers, frozen ground and the landscape could affect the railway's long-term stability.

The research points towards extensive investigation of both the ground and the region's frozen environments. For this project, that could mean checking the proposed alignment again where conditions are difficult, examining individual station sites and designing structures around the conditions found at each location.

Reliability also depends on how the railway handles a local failure. If a single tunnel or approach becomes unusable, services could be interrupted beyond that point. Plans for alternative access, repair work and emergency response would help determine how quickly movement could resume.

Why the armed forces want better access

The Ministry of Defence has identified the Bilaspur-Manali-Leh corridor as a strategic railway. Ladakh's position near sensitive borders makes the movement of troops, fuel, equipment and other supplies a central reason for the proposal.

Narrow mountain roads make heavy loads difficult to move quickly and safely. Tanks, artillery and large supply vehicles need considerable space and careful handling, while snowfall can limit the routes available. Rail transport could move substantial loads along a dedicated corridor.

The intended benefit is a more dependable supply chain, with less reliance on road journeys over high passes. Potential savings in travel time and transport costs would depend on the approved route, the railway's operating capacity and how freight is transferred between trains and its final destinations.

Weather resilience is particularly important to that purpose. A railway designed for service throughout the year would still need its exposed tracks, bridges, stations and tunnel approaches to function during heavy snowfall and extreme cold.

What residents and local businesses could gain

Residents of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh could gain another travel option between settlements along the corridor. Tourists could also reach mountain destinations by train, creating opportunities for accommodation providers, transport operators, shops and other businesses serving visitors.

Freight services could give traders another way to bring supplies into Ladakh. The extent of any price benefit would depend on transport charges, service frequency and the cost of moving goods between railway terminals and towns or villages.

Construction and railway operations could create employment, although no detailed local hiring commitments or job totals have been specified. Passenger fares, journey times and service frequencies have also not been announced.

The fragile mountain environment is part of the project's practical challenge. Tunnel excavation, bridges and station construction would have to be planned with attention to local ground conditions and environmental damage. Those decisions affect both the communities living beside the route and the railway's durability.

For Ladakh, the proposal brings together a large transport opportunity and a demanding engineering task. The next decisive steps are approval, funding and a design capable of supporting reliable services. The altitude record is one possible result; dependable access is the benefit residents and railway users would experience directly.

Key Points

• The proposed Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway would run for 489 kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs 1.31 trillion.
• The Railway Ministry has completed the survey and DPR; final construction approval remains pending.
• About 270 kilometres, roughly 55% of the route, would pass through approximately 60 to 62 tunnels.
• A proposed station near Tanglang La at 5,256 metres would be 188 metres above China's Tanggula station.
• IIT Mandi research places 57.56% of the proposed 275 kilometre Manali-Leh alignment in moderate, high or very high susceptibility zones, with five proposed stations in high-susceptibility zones.
• The railway is intended to improve civilian travel, freight movement and military logistics.
• The 2027 target concerns the connecting Bhanupli-Bilaspur line. No opening date has been announced for the full extension to Leh.