West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday that work on several railway projects in the state worth over ₹1 lakh crore, which had been held up for several years under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) regime due to lack of land, will resume soon.
“Work, worth more than ₹1 lakh crore, will be done in the railway sector in West Bengal. Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has assured me that the funds are ready. The list includes modernisation of 102 stations under the Amrut Bharat Station Scheme, construction of 538 flyovers and underpasses, expansion of Kolkata’s metro and the expansion of railways in areas still not on the railway map. The previous (TMC) government didn’t cooperate with or respond to the railway ministry,” Adhikari said.
Adhikari held a high-level meeting with Vaishnaw at the state secretariat on Saturday. The meeting was attended by senior bureaucrats and top railway officials.
“Several railway projects were held up in the state for many years. The previous government was in a war-like situation with the railways. The centre-state relation had touched the rock-bottom,” he added.
“The Centre has allocated ₹14,205 crore for the railway sector in West Bengal for the financial year 2026-27. The previous TMC government never gave permission for work. Leave aside permission, the situation was such that the TMC government moved the Calcutta high court and Supreme Court in some cases, such as the expansion work of the Kolkata Metro at Chingrighata. This was their way of thinking and work,” said Vaishnaw.
{{/usCountry}}“The Centre has allocated ₹14,205 crore for the railway sector in West Bengal for the financial year 2026-27. The previous TMC government never gave permission for work. Leave aside permission, the situation was such that the TMC government moved the Calcutta high court and Supreme Court in some cases, such as the expansion work of the Kolkata Metro at Chingrighata. This was their way of thinking and work,” said Vaishnaw.
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A senior state government official said that the Sevoke-Rangpo rail project, which is crucial for both connectivity and national security, was held up for many years because the previous state government could not provide 20 acres of land.
“More than 70 projects related to railway over-bridges and under-bridges were stuck because the state didn’t give an NoC. No land acquisition was required for those projects. The CM directed that 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 for the completion of pending projects and to extend all cooperation to the railways.
“West Bengal will get a bullet train which would connect 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,” said Vaishnaw. He also boarded the Kolkata Metro and interacted with passengers.