Train on new Assam line carries Bengal potatoes


Posted on 28th Mar 2015 10:25 am by mohit kumar

Guwahati/New Delhi, March 27 (IANS) Assam's underdeveloped Barak Valley was brought on the broad gauge rail map on Friday, with the inaugural goods train carrying about 2,300 tonnes of potatoes from West Bengal.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu inaugurated the landmark Lumding-Silchar line by flagging off the goods train over video-conference from New Delhi, bringing cheers in the valley, officials said.

Passenger train services on this 210-km route will start soon.

Northeast Frontier Railway spokesman S. Lahiri said in Guwahati that the train chugged into the pristine Barail Hills.

The line is expected to change the landscape of the Barak Valley. It will later be extended to Tripura.

The line, a lifeline for the entire region, is crucial for the supply of foodgrain, fertilizers, petroleum products and other essentials from the rest of India.

The line has 21 tunnels and 79 major bridges. While the longest tunnel is about 3.2 km long, it has the magnificent Dayang Bridge - 54 metres tall.

The Lumding-Silchar connection is a milestone in the northeast region and one of the largest gauge conversion projects of Indian Railways. It cost Rs.3,500 crore.

The minister said Friday was a historical day. The line will speed up development as it is the "lifeline of Barak Valley and the states of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram", Prabhu said.

"I have flagged off a goods train and soon passenger train services will also start."

The project was completed despite difficult hilly terrain, geologically unstable hills and law and order challenges. A number of railway employees died while working on the project.

The Guwahati-Lumding route became a broad gauge line in 1994. The Lumding-Silchar project was sanctioned in 1996-97 and declared a National Project in 2004.

The project was hit by insurgency from 2006 to 2009. The Territorial Army was deployed to take on the insurgents.

The Lumding-Silchar metre gauge line was commissioned in 1904 to connect Barak Valley with the rest of India.


0 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

The remaining 31 matches of IPL will be held in UAE: BCCI will also talk to their board about foreign players; ICC will ask for time till June for a decision on T20 World Cup

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has approved the decision to hold the remaining

Sanctions On Russia: US imposes sanctions on Russian naval institutions after meeting between Zelensky and Biden

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on 10 Russian naval entities over Russian operati

Lockdown Extension: this discount will be available in lockdown 4.0, know here

New Delhi: In view of Coronavirus, the Central Government is considering to extend the lockdown i

Big success for Taliban in Afghanistan, IS Khorasan military chief Qari Fateh killed

Qari Fateh, Minister of War and Military Chief of the Islamic State (IS) Khorasan Province, has b

Sandeshkhali Row: Suvendu Adhikari and Vrinda Karat stopped from going to Sandeshkhali, BJP leaders sitting on dharna in the middle of the road

The political atmosphere is heated regarding the Sandeshkhali violence. The ruling party and the

These 5 big changes happened from today: Buying Hero's car is expensive, new rule for withdrawing money from ATM; petrol and gas prices

Today, i.e. from December 1, many changes have taken place across the country. Now you have to pa

Prince's support to pauper Pak: Saudi Arabia will deposit $ 3 billion in Pakistan's central bank, Imran said - thank you

Saudi Arabia has once again come forward to help Pakistan, which is suffering from a crippling ec

Want to get a phone for gaming? None of the best from this newly launched phone is under 20 thousand!

iQOO Z6 5G On Amazon: If the phone runs superfast while playing games and does not get hot and th

European Union's warning to Elon Musk, Twitter can be banned in 27 countries for not following the rules

The European Union has threatened to ban Twitter. A top European Union official said on Wednesday

President Donald Trump defends 1 million cases of corona virus in America, says - more testing than other countries

US President Donald Trump has defended the case of the Corona virus-infected patients crossing th

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash