Bhanupli–Leh line



The Bhanupli–Leh line is an under-construction electrified railway track connecting Bhanupli, Punjab, to Leh, Ladakh. Once complete, the 489 km long, wide gauge all-weather track is stipulated to reduce travel time from New Delhi to Leh to 10 hours. The railway is to pass through seismic zone IV and V at an elevation of 600 m to 5,360 m above sea level.

The line, with a total length of 489 km, including the 13 km Leh-Sasherthang rail link, will cost ₹99,000 crore (~US$12.4 billion). This includes ₹62,0000 crore (~US$7.75 billion) for 62 tunnels totaling 270 km in length, 114 major bridges, and 90 minor bridges.

Significance and features
After the Jammu–Baramulla line, the Bhanupli–Leh line will be the most challenging railway project in Indian Railways 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 Karu, Sissu, Debring, Leh, and Sesharthang. The rail line will be extended 13 km from Leh to Sesharthang.

Construction phases
The project requires the acquisition of 1100 ha of land, of which 26% is forest land, at a cost of ₹11,500 crore (~US$8.5 billion). 150 km of approach roads will be constructed. The construction phases are:


 * Phase 0: Bhanupli to Barmana in Bilaspur, 63.1 km long link connecting Ladakh to Indian railway network at existing Bhanupli station of Ambala-Sirhind-Una rail line. As of February 2022, the expected completion date for this track is 2025.
 * Phase 1: Barmana to Mandi
 * Phase 2: Mandi to Manali
 * Phase 3: Manali to Upshi
 * Phase 4: Upshi to Leh
 * Phase 5: Leh to Sasherthang 13 km link, included in the project at the request of the Indian military

Phase 0: Bhanupli to Barmana (Bilaspur), 63.1 km
The initial construction phase is focused on connecting the existing Bhanupli railway station in the Rupnagar district of Punjab to Barmana in the Bilaspur district of Himachal Pradesh. It has a total track length of 63.1 km, 20 tunnels totaling 25 km, 24 bridges totaling 6 km, and 2 viaducts totaling 2 km.

There are five main stations in this phase: one in Punjab, at Thural; and four in Himachal Pradesh, at Dharot, Jagatkhana, Bilaspur, and Barmana.

Phase 1
As of a land acquisition that took place in May 2022, phase 1 of this construction project that connects Barmana and Mandi is underway.

Future extensions

 * 1. Leh-Srinagar rail line, 480 km, Rs55,896 project, awaiting the "strategic national project" status & approval.
 * 1.1. Leh-Kargil rail line, 210 km.
 * 1.2. Kargil-Srinagar rail line, 225 km.
 * 2. Leh-Pathankot line, 664 km, Rs70,308 crore project which is scrapped and declared unfeasible. However, it can be revived by declaring it as "strategic national project".

Status updates

 * March 2012: The Ministry of Railways sends the project to the Planning Commission for appraisal.
 * December 2016: The 498 km Bhanupli–Leh rail Final Location Survey (FLS) approved at a cost of ₹345 crore. The railway requests adequate land to set up a camp office in Ladakh and the required infrastructure from the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC).
 * June 2017: Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu lays the foundation stone to mark the beginning of FLS. FLS to be completed by October 2020.
 * December 2021: The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the Leh-Sasherthang rail link (for military logistics) is completed.
 * February 2022: Land acquisition begins in Bilaspur district for the (Barmana) Bilaspur to Mandi section of Phase-1.
 * May 2022: The completion date for Phase-0 is 2025. Seven tunnels of Phase-0a (Bhanupli to Dharot) are complete; track-laying work has begun. Funds for Phase-0b (Dharot to Bilaspur) were allocated, and construction began.
 * July 2023: "Bilaspur-Leh line" final survey and DPR completed, no target completion date for construction given. Other 2 rail routes to Leh, "Leh-Srinagar line" & "Leh-Pathankot line", were surveyed but abandoned due to low traffic projections and consequent financial non-viability. These abandoned projects can still be completed if the central government grants them strategic national project status due to political influence or pressure from the public.