Guwahati, Feb 4: The remaining four of the eight north-eastern state capitals excluding Meghalaya capital Shillong would be connected by the railway networks by 2024 and 2026, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) General Manager Anshul Gupta said on Thursday.
The NFR General Manager said that the ongoing new railway projects – Sivok–Rangpo (45 km) in Sikkim would be completed next year while Jiribam-Imphal (111 km) in Manipur and Bairabi-Sairang (52 km) in Mizoram would be commissioned in 2024 and Dimapur-Zubza (83 km, near Kohima) in Nagaland would be completed in 2026.
“Meghalaya’s commercial town Byrnihat (73 km from Shillong) would be linked by the railway line when the works of the under construction new 22 km railway project would be completed in March next year,” Gupta told the media in a virtual talk.
Assam’s main city of Guwahati (adjoining capital Dispur), Tripura capital Agartala and Arunachal Pradesh’s Naharlagun (adjacent to capital city Itanagar) are already connected with the railway network.
The NFR General Manager said that the railway authority has been focusing about the international railway connectivity particularly with Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“Necessary works are now underway to connect India with the three neighbouring countries Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh,” the NFR GM said, adding that the railway’s ultimate goal is to achieve the economic growth of the north-eastern region by optimising logistic services.
Expressing his satisfaction over the railway budget for the north-eastern region, he said that Rs. 11,428.86 crore has been allocated for the NFR in the central budget of 2022-23 and the allocation is 370 percent more than the average of 2009-14 (Rs 2,122 crore per year).
Gupta said that the budget allotment for the 2022-23 for the north-eastern states is 44 per cent more than the previous year’s allotment of Rs 6,913 crore.
The NFR General Manager informed that adequate funds have been allotted for faster connectivity in the NE region by doubling High Density Network (HDN) sections along with electrification of the entire network for seamless connectivity.
As per the budget announcement, Kavach, the indigenously developed system to aid Loco Pilots in preventing Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD) and avoiding train collisions, will be provided on approximately 2000 km route over Indian Railways.
He also said that Vistadome train services have been introduced recently on the tourist routes of Tinsukia-Naharlagun, Guwahati-Badarpur, New Jalpaiguri-Alipurduar and Guwahati – Naharlagun. Vistadome coaches have also been attached to the Joy Ride services in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway section. The Vistadome trains are aesthetically designed to give a better travel experience to tourists.
The General Manager announced that electrification of track is completed up to Guwahati and, as per policy of the Indian Railways, work for 100 per cent electrification of NFR routes is also going on. This 100 per electrification will give a boost to the economy of north-eastern states and it will bring NFR at par with other electrified railways, he said.
Gupta said that farmers of NE states can now send fruits, vegetables and other perishable products to outside markets by using the services of Kisan rail.
“50 per cent subsidy is allowed for transportation of all fruits and vegetables through these trains. Refrigerated parcel van to carry pineapple and other fruits and vegetables from the northeast region to other parts of India is also available for booking,” he added.
