Railways To Connect All Northeastern State Capitals By 2020

SILCHAR: The Northeast Frontier Railway, which is building rail infrastructure in the region, has targeted to connect all its eight state capitals by 2020, a senior official has said.

"We would connect all the state capitals of the eight northeastern states by railway link within 2020," NFR general manager Rakesh Kumar Singh told reporters here.

He said: "Mizoram capital Aizawl and Manipur capital Imphal would be connected by railway network by 2018 and 2019 respectively. The capitals of the remaining states would be linked by 2020 and the works are on to achieve the target."

Tripura's capital Agartala already connected by railway networks, even though line between Assam's Silchar-Agartala is meter gauge.

Agartala came up on the country's rail map in 2008. Currently, northeastern states have around 2,700 km railway line comprising meter gauge and broad gauge lines, officials said.

Singh, who was leading a 45-member NFR team, arrived in Silchar railway station from Guwahati on Sunday afternoon with the first nine-bogie railway trial inspection train, which left for Guwahati.

On Friday, the team said it successfully carried out trial run of a diesel engine from Lumding to Silchar on the newly-converted broad gauge line. The regular train service on the new BG line would be conducted from April after the clearance of Railway Safety Commissioner.
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