Guwahati: All the state capitals of North Eastern region will be provided with railway connectivity by 2020, general manager of Northeast Frontier Railways RS Virdi, has reiterated.
Speaking at a discussion on ‘Railways, Infrastructure and Construction: Mobilising the North East – Railways as an Agent of Change’ at the concluding day of the Assam International Trade and Industrial Fair (AITIF) at Jorhat on Wednesday, Virdi said the NFR has major plans for the region and is undertaking several major projects in the region.
He stated that 34 major projects are currently underway which are to the tune of Rs 53,000 crores.
He further stated that the most important ones among the ongoing projects are the connecting lines from North Lakhimpur to Murkongselek, the upcoming Bogibeel bridge over the Brahmaputra river near Dibrugarh, the new line from Jiribam to Imphal in Manipur and the conversion of the meter gauge to broad gauge line from Badarpur to Agartala.
Virdi added that there is a great potential of rail freight increasing in Upper Assam the railways want to serve the tea industry of the state and want to make advances in that direction.
Also speaking at the session Arvind Bhatnagar, Director Domestic of CONCOR, underlined the large potential of increasing freight in the North East with the augment of business.
He said a storage facility has come up in Agartala which would greatly help the freight prospects in the region. RK Sondh, the Chief Passenger Transport Manager of NFR, talked of the freight incentive schemes that the Railways has taken out for the new loaders. (UNI)
