Maligaon, August 4 (MExN): The sanction of a new line work from Sivok in West Bengal up to Rangpo, Sikkim is also expected to be linked with rail connectivity by December 2022, Railway officials informed on Tuesday.
A statement from the North-east Frontier Railways (NFR) spokesperson, Subhanan Chanda, informed that emphasis has been given by Central Government during the last 5 years towards quick execution of infrastructure and safety projects. Funding to the infrastructure projects has also increased considerably, Chanda added.
Indian Railways has doubled tunnelling output in order to provide faster connectivity in north-eastern states during 2014-19 which is 54.324 KM in comparison to the period of 2009-14, which was only 31.7 Km, Chanda stated.
According to the statement, the cumulative expenditure in New Line/Gauge Conversion/Doubling infrastructure projects during 2014-18 was Rs 25,908 crore as against Rs 10,612 crore during 2009-13 which is around 144% more than during 2009-13. The average allotment per year for North Eastern States was Rs 2,122.40 crore per year from 2009-14. However, it increased 144% to Rs 5,181.60 crore per year for this region during 2014- 19.
The capitals of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura States are already connected by Broad Gauge (BG) rail network while capital of Manipur will be connected by Rail Network by March, 2022. Capitals of Mizoram and Nagaland will be connected by March, 2023, Chanda stated.
Further, two projects of BG line has been taken up for capital connectivity of Meghalaya. In the new BG line project from Tetelia in Assam to Byrnihat in Meghalaya, about 10 km length out of total 21.50 kms falling in Assam portion from Tetelia to Kamalajari got completed in October, 2018. Target date for completion of the project is March 2022. Work for the new BG line from Byrnihat to Shillong (108.40 km) for connecting the capital of Meghalaya was sanctioned in 2010-11; however, progress of the projects is affected due to protests from different organisations in Meghalaya, Chanda stated.
