Guwahati, Feb 3: Union minister of railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced an allocation of Rs 10,440 crore for the development of railway infrastructure in the Northeast, marking a historic increase in funding for the region.
The minister made the announcement during a virtual interaction with mediapersons from the Northeast to discuss the railway infrastructure projects outlined in the Union Budget for 2025-26.
Notably, the allocation is more than five times higher than the average allocation of Rs 2,122 crore during the 2009-2014 period, and is expected to support significant projects, including new lines, track renewals, traffic facilities, road safety work, bridge construction, signaling upgrades and improved customer amenities in the region.
Vaishnaw further stated that Indian Railways would continue to expand faster, safer and more comfortable rail travel across the country with a budget allocation of over Rs 2.65 lakh crore for the second consecutive year.
The minister informed that the railway ministry plans to roll out 200 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 Amrit Bharat trains and 50 Namo Bharat rapid rails, which will cater particularly to the needs of lower and middle-class citizens.
Additionally, the construction of 1000 new flyovers and underpasses will further enhance safety across the country.
In his address, the minister acknowledged the ongoing progress of railway projects in the Northeast, despite the challenging terrain. He highlighted that since 2014, 1824 kilometres of new tracks have been laid, surpassing the entire rail network of Sri Lanka.
Additionally, 478 new flyovers and underpasses have been constructed across the northeastern states. Furthermore, the implementation of Kavach safety systems on 1189 route kilometers is underway.
General manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, and general manager of NFR (Construction) Arun Kumar Choudhary, who were also present during the virtual interaction, informed that 92 stations in the region will be revamped under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme.
The officials informed that electrification of all tracks under NFR is expected to be completed by December 2025 while the Bhairabi-Sairang project in Mizoram is scheduled for completion by July 2025.