The Indian Railways on Friday, 15 May sanctioned three new infrastructure projects for West Bengal, days after the state witnessed a historic political shift — the end of 15 years of All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule and the installation of the first Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in the state since Independence. West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari confirmed he had received three separate letters from Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw detailing the approvals.

The Three Sanctioned Projects

The first approval covers a new Jalpaiguri–Siliguri railway line in the northern sector of West Bengal, a corridor long sought to ease connectivity in the Dooars region. The second sanctions the launch of a new express train service — the Santragachi–Khatipura Express (via Kharagpur) — linking Santragachi in the Howrah region adjoining Kolkata with Khatipura in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

The third approval authorises a final location survey and the preparation of a detailed project report for a proposed third railway line spanning 107 km from Salboni in West Midnapore district to Adra Junction in Purulia district.

Kolkata Metro Work Resumes at Chingrighata

Separately, Railway Minister Vaishnaw announced on social media that long-stalled Kolkata Metro connection work at Chingrighata, near Salt Lake on the northern outskirts of Kolkata, would commence from Friday night. The work had been blocked for approximately three years because the Kolkata Police — under the previous TMC administration — had withheld permission for the traffic restrictions at Chingrighata that the project required.

'The government in West Bengal has changed. A double-engine government has come to power. The problem of Chingrighata, stuck for three years, has been resolved. Permission has also been obtained from the Kolkata Police. Now the work is starting,' Vaishnaw said in his social media post on Friday afternoon.

What the Metro Work Involves

The pending task involves installing two girders between pillars 317, 318, and 319 of the Chingrighata Metro stretch. Traffic restrictions at the junction were a prerequisite for the girder installation. After a prolonged legal process, Kolkata Police finally granted the necessary permission, clearing the path for night-time construction to begin.

Political Context and What It Signals

The cluster of Railway announcements arrives in the immediate wake of West Bengal's Assembly election results, which ended TMC's uninterrupted hold on the state. The BJP now leads what it terms a 'double-engine government' — a phrase used by the party to describe alignment between the state and the Centre. Critics may note that the pace of Railway approvals for the state appears to have accelerated sharply following the change in administration, a pattern seen in other states after political transitions. How quickly these projects move from sanction to execution will be the real measure of the Centre's intent.