IN An enormous push for deeper connectivity within the North-East, Mizoram’s capital Aizawl has now been linked to the nationwide railway community by way of the Bairabi–Sairang line within the state.
Bairabi in Kolasib district, close to the border with Assam, has to this point been the one railhead in Mizoram. Sairang is a satellite tv for pc city of Aizawl, round 20 km from town.
A senior official of the Ministry of Railways mentioned the formal inauguration of the Bairabi–Sairang line is more likely to happen after June 17.
“The Fee of Railway Security (CRS) will conduct the inspection of the mission this week. Solely after that may the inauguration occur, resulting in the beginning of practice operations. Barring just a few sideworks, work on the road is nearly full,” the official mentioned.
The inspection by the CRS, the railway security audit physique, is the ultimate stage for the practice operation.
A profitable trial run to Sairang was carried out on Might 1 by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), marking a historic step.
Mizoram turns into the fourth N-E state with its capital metropolis related to the nationwide railway community. The opposite three states are Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh.
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Till now the practice used to go solely as much as 1.5 km in Mizoram. The Bairabi–Sairang New Line is a 51.38-km railway mission with a revised sanctioned price of Rs 5,021.45 crore.
In accordance with information obtainable with the Ministry of Railways, the mission has achieved 94.52 per cent bodily progress and 97.13 per cent monetary progress. The mission is split into 4 sections with the Bairabi–Hortoki part (16.72 km) already commissioned in July 2024.
The remaining sections — Hortoki–Kawnpui (9.71 km), Kawnpui–Mualkhang (12.11 km), and Mualkhang–Sairang (12.84 km) — are slated for operations by June.
The mission was additionally very difficult from the engineering level given the tough terrain of Mizoram. The road has 48 tunnels with a complete size of 12,853 m, alongside 55 main bridges and 87 minor bridges. It additionally consists of 5 Highway Over Bridges (ROBs) and 6 Highway Below Bridges (RUBs). One of many notable buildings is Bridge No. 196, standing at a peak of 104 m, which is 32 m taller than the Qutub Minar.
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The Bairabi-Sairang mission is a part of a broader, accelerated push by the Ministry of Railways to attach all N-E state capitals by rail and improve infrastructure within the area. This includes quite a few new line and doubling initiatives throughout Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Manipur and Tripura. The railways work is but to take off in full movement in Meghalaya due to years of opposition by native stress teams in opposition to rail connectivity.
Different key new line initiatives underway embody:
- Dimapur–Kohima New Line (Dhansiri–Zubza): Geared toward connecting Nagaland’s capital, Kohima, this 82.5-km line extends from Dhansiri station in Assam, not very removed from Dimapur in Nagaland, to Zubza, roughly 15 km from Kohima. The mission has a revised price of Rs. 6,663.20 crore, with 65 per cent bodily progress and 67.97 per cent monetary progress. Its focused date of completion (TDC) is ready for December 2029. The unique TDC was March 2026.
- Murkongselek–Pasighat New Line: This 26.15-km broad gauge mission beneath NFR will improve connectivity between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. With a value of Rs. 414.84 crore, the mission has achieved 41 per cent bodily progress and 55.65 per cent monetary progress. The road is scheduled to be accomplished by February 2026. The road extends from Murkongselek in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh.
- Sivok–Rangpo New Line: That is an bold mission connecting Sikkim to the nationwide community for the primary time. This 45-km line has a value of Rs. 7,876.92 crore and 73 p.c bodily progress. Its TDC is December 2027. The road traverses from Sivok (West Bengal) to Rangpo (Sikkim). Presently, Sikkim has no railway connectivity. The mission is a part of India’s broader technique to reinforce infrastructure in border areas and foster regional financial progress. The railway line will play an important position in enhancing defence logistics by facilitating quicker motion of navy personnel and gear to the Sino-Indian border in Sikkim. The proposed line consists of 14 tunnels with the longest tunnel of 5300 m and shortest tunnel is of 542 m.
- Jiribam–Imphal New Line: Spanning roughly 111 km, this mission goals to combine Manipur’s capital Imphal. With a value of Rs. 14,322.79 crore, it has achieved 91 per cent bodily progress.
Along with new strains, railway infrastructure is being upgraded with doubling initiatives just like the Agthori–Kamakhya line with a brand new rail-cum-road bridge at Saraighat. This mission in Assam has a size of seven.062 km, prices Rs 1,473.77 crore, and has a TDC of December 2029.
The 2 different main line doubling initiatives in Assam are New Bongaigaon-Agthori by way of Rangiya (142.97 km), which was commissioned in October 2024, and New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Kamakhya doubling mission, which is more likely to be commissioned in March 2027.
In accordance with information tabled by the Ministry of Railways in Lok Sabha on March 19 this yr, general, as of April 1, 2024, there have been 18 railway initiatives (13 new line and 5 doubling) with a complete size of 1,368 km and an estimated price of Rs 74,972 crore at numerous levels of planning and implementation within the N-E area together with Assam. Of this, 313 km of observe size has been commissioned. An expenditure of Rs 40,549 crore had been incurred as much as March 2024.
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The information reveals that 81 km of the 896-km new line initiatives and 232 km of the 472-km doubling initiatives have been commissioned, with expenditure of Rs 34,616 crore and Rs 5,933 crore, respectively.
In accordance with the Ministry, as part of railway infrastructure enlargement within the North-East, in final 3 years (from 2021-22 to 2024-25), 21 surveys (17 new line and 4 doubling), of whole size 2,499 km falling absolutely/partly within the N-E area together with Assam, have been sanctioned.
The typical funds allocation for infrastructure initiatives within the N-E area has additionally elevated, with Rs 10,440 crore allocation for 2025-26.
Furthermore, the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme consists of a number of stations within the N-E for upgrades corresponding to Dimapur (Nagaland), Agartala, Udaipur, Kumarghat and Dharmanagar in Tripura, Sairang (Mizoram), Imphal (Manipur), Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh), Mendipathar (Meghalaya), Rangpo (Sikkim), and 50 stations in Assam together with main hubs like Guwahati and Kamakhya.
The area additionally at present has a pair of Vande Bharat trains working between Guwahati and New Jalpaiguri, with two new Amrit Bharat trains earmarked for the North-East.