India Moves To Secure Chicken’s Neck As Underground Rail Project Targets Strategic Vulnerabilities

New Delhi is taking no chances with the Siliguri corridor, India’s narrow and most vulnerable strategic chokepoint linking the Northeast to the rest of the country. The government has announced plans for underground railway tracks along the chicken’s neck while expanding surface lines to four tracks, significantly boosting capacity and security. The corridor’s geography makes it uniquely exposed, bordered by Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, with China looming nearby. Officials say underground infrastructure will ensure continuity of supplies and troop movement even in worst-case scenarios. Recent regional developments, including sharp rhetoric from across the border and China’s growing footprint near India’s eastern flank, have sharpened security calculations. Lessons from Doklam still loom large. By going underground, India is quietly hardening its lifeline, reducing vulnerability without escalating tensions. The project underlines a larger truth in modern geopolitics. Connectivity is sovereignty, and infrastructure is deterrence.