The Bhanupli–Leh line, including long Bhanupli-Barmana (Bilaspur) link and the long Bilaspur-Manali-Leh link, is an under-construction long wide

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

all-weather electrified railway track connecting Bhanupli in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

, to

Leh Leh () is a city in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Kashmir_dispute, disputed Kashmir region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:TE ...

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

. Passing through seismic zone IV and V at an elevation of to above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

, this geostrategically important track will reduce travel time from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

to Leh to 10 hours, which takes 25-40 hours by road.

Significance

After the

Jammu–Baramulla line The Jammu–Baramulla line, including the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) subsection, is a 324 km long railway track between the cities of Jammu and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir India. It is fully operational as of Jun ...

, the Bhanupli–Leh line will be the most challenging railway project in

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

due to high mountains, a large number of tunnels, high bridges, and severe cold weather. To cater to military logistics needs, the loop line will be constructed at five stations for the exclusive use of military loading and unloading at Sissu,

Karu Karu may refer to: ; Places * Karu, Estonia * Karu LGA, Nigeria ** Karu Urban Area * Karu Nadu, South West India * Karu, Ladakh, North India ; Languages * Karu language ; People * Erkki Karu Erkki Karu (born Erland Fredrik Kumlander) (10 Apr ...

, Debring, Leh, and Sesharthang.

Details

Route

The project has 42 new stations, including 5 between Bhaupali to Barmana (Bilaspur) and 37 stations from Bilaspur to Leh and Sarthang. * Punjab **

Rupnagar district Rupnagar district is one of twenty-three districts in the state of Punjab, India. The city of Rupnagar is said to have been founded by a Raja called Rokeshar, who ruled during the 11th century and named it after his son Rup Sen. It is also t ...

*** Bhanupali (existing station) of

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

Sirhind Sirhind is a Twin cities, twin city of Fatehgarh Sahib in Punjab, India, Punjab, India. It is hosts the municipal council of Fatehgarh Sahib district. Demographics In the 2011 census of India, 2011 census Sirhind-Fatehgarh had a population of ...

- Una rail line connects this line to the vast mainland Indian railway network. *** Thural *

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

** Bilaspur district *** Dharot *** Jagatkhana *** Bilaspur *** Barmana **

Mandi district Mandi district is one of the central districts of Himachal Pradesh state in northern India. The town of Mandi is the headquarters of the district. The main native language is Mandeali. As of 2011, it is the second most populous district of ...

***

Sundar Nagar Sundar Nagar (also spelled as Sundernagar) is a town and a municipal council in Mandi district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It was formerly a princely state, known as Suket. History Sunder Nagar was formerly the seat of princ ...

*** Mandi *** Manali **

Lahaul and Spiti district The Lahaul and Spiti district is a high-altitude district in Himachal Pradesh, north India. This entirely mountainous district consists of two geographically distinct as well as formerly separate political-administrative units, called Lahaul ( ...

*** Koksar *** Sissu (with loop line sliding for military logistics) ***

Keylong Kyelang (also spelled Keylong) is a town and the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, north of Manali via Atal Tunnel and from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Mana ...

(underground station) ***

Darcha Darcha (elevation 3,360 m or 11,020 ft) is a pair of villages (Darcha Sumdo and Darach Dangma) on the Bhaga River in the Lahaul sub-division in the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Himac ...

* Ladakh **

Leh district Leh district is a district in Indian-administered Ladakh in the Kashmir#Dispute, disputed Kashmir-region. The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the WP:T ...

*** Debring (with loop line sliding for military logistics) ***

Upshi Upshi is a village and road junction on the Leh-Manali Highway in the union territory of Ladakh in India. It is located to the southeast of Leh along the Indus river valley and Tanglang La on the Leh-Manali highway. Gya, Ladakh, Gya is also to ...

***

(with loop line sliding for military logistics) ***

(with loop line sliding for military logistics) *** Sesharthang (with loop line sliding for military logistics)

Features

Bilaspur-Manali-Leh rail line, with a total length of , including the Leh-Sasherthang rail link, will cost ₹99,000

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

(~US$12.4 billion). This includes ₹62,000 crore (~US$7.75 billion) for 62 tunnels totaling in length, 114 major bridges, and 90 minor bridges. India’s costliest rail line will change how we view travel
theweek.in, 13 Apr 2025. Bilaspur-Leh section will have 124 major bridges, 396 minor bridges, and 52% track passing through 74 tunnels (with 27 km long Keylong tunnel being longer). Since this trakc passes through sub-zero cold weather, the coaches will be pressurised to maintain oxygen level and will be heated, but there will be no sleeper class seats. Construction includes structure to mitigate landslides, cloudbursts, and avalanches in the 48% section running outside the tunnels.

Construction

Funding

According to the 2022 Detailed Project Report (DPR), project cost will exceed ₹1 lakh crore. Total 2200 hectares land, including 572 hectares (26%), will be acquired at the cost of ₹11,500 crore. Bridges and tunnels will cost ₹62,000 crore including the large escape tunnels for ensuring passenger safety during emergencies. The project requires the acquisition of of land, of which 26% is forest land, at a cost of ₹11,500 crore (~US$8.5 billion). of approach roads will be constructed.

Sections

In March 2012,

Ministry of Railways A Ministry of Railways is a Cabinet department that exists or has existed in many Commonwealth states as well as others. It generally occurs in countries where railroad transportation is a particularly important part of the national infrastructure ...

sent the project to the Planning Commission for appraisal. In December 2016, the the budget of ₹345 crore was approved for carrying out the Final Location Survey (FLS) for Bhanupli–Leh rail, which finally begun in June 2017, and was completed by October 2020. In March 2025, the FSL and subsequent DPR for Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line were complete. * Section-0: Bhanupli to Barmana (Bilaspur), long link begins at the existing Bhanupli station, * Section-1: Barmana to Mandi * Section-2: Mandi to Manali * Section-3: Manali to

* Section-4: Upshi to Leh * Section-5: Leh to Sasherthang link, included in the project at the request of the

Indian military The Indian Armed Forces are the armed forces, military forces of the India, Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, the Indian Navy, and the Indian Air Force.—— Additionally, the Indian Ar ...

, and Ministery of Defence had granted final approval in December 2024.Bilaspur-Manali-Leh Rail Line Gets Green Signal; Land Acquisition Process Begins
The News Himachal, 24 Dec 2024.

Section-0: Bhanupli to Barmana (Bilaspur), 63.1 km

The construction on this initial section is focused on connecting the existing Bhanupli railway station in the

to Barmana in the Bilaspur district of

. It has a total track length of , 20 tunnels totaling , 24 bridges totaling , and 2 viaducts totaling .
Amar Ujala, 24 April 2022.रेल विकास निगम: भानुपल्ली-बिलासपुर-लेह रेललाइन के लिए बिछने लगा ट्रैक
Amar Ujala, 15 May 2022.

Section-1: Barmana (Bilaspur) to Mandi

In May 2022, this section commenced with land acquisition between Barmana and Mandi.

Related connectivity

Originally, a couple of further extensions from Leh also were planned to be constructed at a later time. However, in 2023 these were officially declared to be "shelved due to low traffic projection". They comprised the following. * 1. Jammu_railway_division#SKLL, Srinagar-Kargil-Leh line, , a Rs 55,896 crore project. , survey done, DPR on hold as of 2025. ** 1.1. Leh-Kargil rail line, . ** 1.2. Kargil-Srinagar rail line, . * 2. Pathankot-Leh line, , Rs 70,308 crore project, survey done, DPR being prepared in 2025.

Status updates

* 2022 Feb: Section-1 Bilaspur (Barmana) to Mandi section land acquisition begins in Bilaspur district. * 2022 May: Section-0 Bhanupali to Bilaspur (Barmana) completion date revised to 2025. Seven tunnels of Section-0a (Bhanupli to Dharot) are complete; track-laying work has begun. Funds for Section-0b (Dharot to Bilaspur) were allocated, and construction began. *2023 Jul: Bilaspur-Leh line FSL (final location survey) and DPR completed. Other 2 rail routes to Leh, "Leh-Srinagar line" & "Leh-Pathankot line", were surveyed but abandoned due to the low traffic projections and consequent financial non-viability. * 2024 Dec: Bhanupali to Leh link completion date revised to 2027. Section-0 Bhanupali to Bilaspur (Barmana) section, only 79.57 hectares (63%) out of the total 124.02-hectare was required and construction was underway on the acquired land on which ₹5,205 crore had been spent but the state govt was yet to pay its share of ₹1,351 crore to the railway, thus causing delays due to lack of land acquisition and non-payment of dues.Union railway minister blames Himachal govt for delay in two rail projects
Hindustan Times, 19 Dec 2024. * 2025 Feb: Cement pillars were being laid on the entire Bilaspur-Leh route to mark the track.Train to Leh: After Kashmir, Govt shifts focus towards Ladakh rail link
Kashmir Dispatch, 31 Jan 2025.

References

External links

Google map of the existing and planned route with additional spurs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhanupli-Leh line Proposed railway lines in India * Rail transport in Punjab, India Rail transport in Himachal Pradesh Rail transport in Ladakh 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in India Transport in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh Transport in Leh Proposed infrastructure in Himachal Pradesh Proposed infrastructure in Ladakh