SHILLONG: Though there is no mention of any railway project in the Khasi-Jaintia Hills sector in the Union Railway budget presented on Thursday, fund has been sanctioned for preliminary work for a new rail line from Dhubri in Assam to Mendipathar in Meghalaya.
As per a statement issued by Northeastern Frontier railway on Thursday, Rs 44.8 lakh has been earmarked for preliminary engineering cum traffic survey for a new 120-km line between Dhubri and Mendipathar with double line bridge over the Brahmaputra at Dhubri.
It was on November 30, 2014 that the Mendipathar railway line in North Garo Hills connecting Guwahati was commissioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A passenger pays only Rs 30 as fare for the journey which covers a distance of 130 km from Mendipathar to Guwahati.
A train leaves Mendipathar at 7 AM daily and reaches Guwahati at 11 AM and the same train leaves Guwahati at 6.10 PM on the same day and reaches Mendipathar at 10 PM.
While the construction of the much awaited Tetelia-Byrnihat line has hit hurdles due to the delay in acquisition of land on Assam side, the survey work for Byrnihat-Shillong rail line is yet to be completed.
