PM Modi likely to inaugurate new railway line linking Aizawl, 4th state capital in NE

Aizawl, June 22 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to inaugurate the newly laid railway line connecting Mizoram’s Aizawl, which would be the fourth capital city in the northeast region to be connected by a railway network, officials said on Sunday.

A senior Mizoram government official said that though the final confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) is awaited, it is learnt that PM Modi would inaugurate the 51.38 km long Bairabi-Sairang new railway project in July.

He said that the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS), Northeast Frontier Circle, Sumeet Singhal, after visiting the newly laid railway tracks between June 6 and June 10, authorised the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) to operate both goods and passenger trains on the line. The Bairabi-Sairang new railway project has been divided into four sections -- Bairabi-Hortoki (16.72 km, commissioned in July 2024), Hortoki-Kawnpui (9.71 km), Kawnpui-Mualkhang (12.11 km), and Mualkhang-Sairang (12.84 km).

An NFR official said that this milestone completes the entire 51.38 km new railway line project from Bairabi, near Assam’s Hailakandi district, to Sairang, near Aizawl city, bringing direct rail connectivity to the Mizoram state capital for the first time. The final 33.864 km stretch from Hortoki to Sairang was thoroughly inspected by the CRS between June 6 and June 10. Following the inspection, the CRS has authorised the opening of the BG line from Hortoki to Sairang for public carriage of goods and passengers at a maximum permissible speed of 90 kmph on the main line, the NFR official said.

According to the official, with the completion of the final leg, Mizoram is now fully integrated into the national railway network.

This transformative achievement is expected to significantly enhance passenger and freight movement, stimulate socio-economic growth, and fulfil a long-standing aspiration of the people of Mizoram to see trains arriving in the heart of their capital, the official said.

Despite the tough terrain, commendable work has been carried out by the NFR. The official said that the Bairabi-Sairang new line railway project is an engineering marvel of the Indian Railways. The project, which lies in mountainous terrain, consists of 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges, and 87 minor bridges. The total length of tunnels in this project is 12,853 meters. The height of bridge number 196 is 104 metres, which is 42 metres taller than the Qutub Minar.

The project also includes five Road Over Bridges and six Road Under Bridges. After the inauguration of the Bairabi-Sairang new railway line, Mizoram's capital, Aizawl, would soon become the fourth NE state capital to be linked to the country’s railway network after Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.

--IANS

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