The long-standing demand to extend the BG Express (Train No. 15665) from Mariani in Assam to Tuli in Nagaland has gained fresh momentum after Nagaland’s lone Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) S Supongmeren Jamir raised the matter during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, prompting a written response from Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
In a letter dated August 28, 2025, Vaishnaw informed Jamir that “the concerned directorate has been asked to have the matter examined in detail” regarding the proposed extension of the BG Express up to Tuli Railway Station in Mokokchung district.
The push to connect Tuli by rail is not new. The Nagaland Legislative Assembly had on April 30, 2025 adopted a resolution urging the extension of the BG Express service to Tuli, which was subsequently conveyed by the Department of Transport, Government of Nagaland to the General Manager (Construction), Northeast Frontier Railway at Maligaon, Guwahati on May 14, 2025.
Jamir, while raising the matter in Parliament, clarified that this was not a demand for a new train service, but an extension of an existing passenger train on an already-constructed railway line that has remained unutilized.
He appealed to the Union Railway Minister to consider the demand on priority, saying the extension would greatly benefit the people of Nagaland by improving connectivity and economic opportunities, especially in the Tuli industrial area.
Meanwhile, sources added, “If the train comes up to proper Tuli Town it will benefit Naga people but if it comes like last time only up to 10th mile there will be no passengers like last time because there’s no infrastructure for passengers there in the middle of a jungle”.