Mizoram's Bairabi-Sairang railway line to extend up to Myanmar border

Aizawl, April 8 (IANS) Railway Ministry is planning to extend the under-construction Bairabi-Sairang railway line up to the India-Myanmar border, Mizoram’s Rajya Sabha member K. Vanlalvena said on Tuesday.

Mizoram’s Aizawl would be the fourth capital city in the northeast region to be linked by a railway network within four to five months after the completion of the 51.38 km Bairabi-Sairang new broad gauge line project.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is laying the new broad gauge line between Bairabi near Assam’s Hailakandi district and Sairang, near Aizawl, at a cost of over Rs 8,215 crore.

Vanlalvena, who on Monday inspected the Sairang railway station site, on Tuesday said that the Railway ministry is planning to extend the railway line up to Zochachhuah, a village on the India-Myanmar border.

“Preliminary surveys are now being done to extend the railway line up to the Myanmar border. It would significantly benefit Mizoram once it’s operationalised. Government’s plan to further extend the railway network beyond Sairang, cutting across southern Mizoram to Zochachhuah near the Myanmar border, potentially opening doors for enhanced cross-border trade and regional integration,” the Rajya Sabha member told IANS.

The bordering Zochachhuah village falls under the Lawngtlai district, which shares borders with Myanmar.

The MP expressed satisfaction over the progress made on the Bairabi–Sairang railway project, saying that of the estimated cost of Rs 8,215 crore for the project, Rs 7,714 crore has already been spent.

“I consistently advocated for the railway project in the Parliament. Centre’s plan to extend the railway line to the Myanmar border would be beneficial for the entire northeastern region,” he pointed out.

However, the tragic collapse of the steel girder bridge at Kurung - the tallest along the under-construction railway route on August 23 last year, had set back the timeline by almost a year. The disastrous accident claimed 23 lives of railway workers. NFR's General Manager, Construction,

Meanwhile, Arun Kumar Chaudhary recently inspected the ongoing Bairabi-Sairang railway project. Accompanied by senior railway officials from the NFR headquarters at Maligaon near Guwahati, Chaudhury inspected the worksite of the ongoing new line project, which includes inspection of the construction of Kawnpui and Mualkhang station, Sairang station yard, construction of bridges and tunnelling works in the project.

NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the Bairabi-Sairang new railway line project connecting Aizawl in Mizoram with the rest of the country is at an advanced completion stage.

This new line project is divided into four sections -- Bairabi-Hortoki, Hortoki-Kawnpui, Kawnpui-Mualkhang and Mualkhang-Sairang.

The Bairabi-Hortoki section was commissioned in July last year.

The NFR is making all efforts to fulfil its commitment to commission the project at the earliest, the CPRO said.

--IANS

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