North Eastern Railway Connectivity Project is an multi phased railway connectivity project in Northeast India which comprises states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura and it also includes the state of Sikkim. These states come under Northeast Frontier Railway Zone of Indian Railways. This Railway project is considered as strategically important for India because it connects all the border states in this region and also close to ASEAN countries.
The Government of India has planned and projected to connect all capitals of North Eastern states by 2023. [1]
Northeast Region or popularly known as Seven Sister states are strategically important areas to counter China. These state are connected to India through very narrow area of Siliguri Corridor also named as Chicken's neck. After China's claims over Doklam area of Bhutan and India. It becomes important for India to boost connectivity in this region. [2] [3] During the Sino-Indian War and Nathu La and Cho La clashes came closure to border and build villages near border with Bhutan, India and Nepal. [4]
Under prosperous project by PM Narendra Modi PM Gati Shakti which was launched in 2021 with aim to boost connectivity across the country and to connect all the capitals of Indian state. [5] Especially this region is considered as Gateway to Southeast Asia. Thus strategic railway lines is important for this region. The region currently has 6,829 km of rail network mostly in the state of Assam.
Also to develop tourism in this region railways is major medium. [6] In 2023, various deluxe train started which will tour passenger with major locations like Kamakhya Temple, Guwahati,Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Unakoti in Tripura, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, Dimapur in Nagaland etcetera locations. [7] [8]
Currently there are three capitals which are linked with railways, they are: Guwahati, Itanagar and Agartala. [9]
| Project | Location | States | Length (in Kilometre) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sivok–Rangpo line | From Sivok, Darjeeling district(WB) To Rangpo, Pakyong district(SK) | West Bengal and Sikkim | 44.96 | [10] |
| Bairabi–Sairang line | From Bairabi, Kolasib district | Mizoram | 51.38 | [11] |
| Jiribam–Imphal line | From Jiribam, Jiribam district To Imphal, Imphal district | Manipur | 110.63 | [12] |
| Dhansiri–Zubza line | From Dhansiri(Dimapur), Dimapur district | Nagaland | 82.5 | [13] |
| Tetelia-Byrnihat line | From Tetelia(Guwahati), Kamrup district To Byrnihat, Ri-Bhoi district | Assam and Meghalaya | 22 | [14] |
The Government of two countries signed MoU for railway project linking Akhaurah, Bangladesh and Agartala of Tripura, India. [23] The project is expected to be completed in mid-2023. [24] NFR also conducted surveys for Belonia-Chittagong rail link. [25]
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In Northeast India, the government is developing multiple railway projects to connect the region with the Trans-Asian Railway (TAR). A key project is the 118-km railway line from Imphal in Manipur to Moreh on the Myanmar border, aimed at improving access to the TAR. [19] Additionally, a route from Tripura to Bangladesh is proposed to enhance the region's integration into the TAR network. [23]
Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, and the "brother" state of Sikkim.
Shillong is a hill station and the capital of Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India. It is the headquarters of the East Khasi Hills district. Shillong is the 330th most populous city in India with a population of 143,229 according to the 2011 census. It is said that the rolling hills around the town reminded the British of Scotland. Hence, they would also refer to it as the "Scotland of the East".
The Northeast Frontier Railway is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across Northeastern states and some districts of eastern Bihar and northern West Bengal.
The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. 20–22 kilometres (12–14 mi) at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the seven states of northeast India to the rest of the India. The countries of Nepal and Bangladesh lie on each side of the corridor and the Kingdom of Bhutan lies at the northern end of the corridor. The Kingdom of Sikkim formerly lay on the northern side of the corridor, until its merging with India in 1975.
New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station established in 1960, is an A1 category broad-gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest and the busiest railway junction of northern Bengal. This junction is largest among the railway stations which serve the city of Siliguri, the largest metropolis of the North Bengal. The other stations are- Siliguri Junction, Gulma, Bagdogra, Matigara, Rangapani and Siliguri Town. New Jalpaiguri junction ranked 10th cleanest railway station in India in 2016 survey and came among the top 100 booking stations of Indian railway. New Jalpaiguri, as a railway station serves as the entry point to North Bengal, Sikkim, other countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and the seven northeastern states. New Jalpaiguri Junction acts as a connecting base of railways for the northeastern states to the Indian mainland.
The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region is a Government of India ministry, established in September 2001, which functions as the nodal Department of the Central Government to deal with matters related to the socio-economic development of the eight States of Northeast India: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. It acts as a facilitator between the Central Ministries/ Departments and the State Governments of the North Eastern Region in the economic development including removal of infrastructural bottlenecks, provision of basic minimum services, creating an environment for private investment and to remove impediments to lasting peace and security in the North Eastern Region.
Guwahati Railway Station is located in the heart of the city of Guwahati, Assam. It is the first fully solar-operated railway station in India. It has been rated as A1-category station. Just behind the Guwahati Railway Station is the Assam State Transport Corporation Bus Terminal.
The Kaladan Road Project is a US$484 million project connecting the eastern Indian seaport of Kolkata with Sittwe seaport in Rakhine State, Myanmar by sea. In Myanmar, it will then link Sittwe seaport to Paletwa in Chin State via the Kaladan river boat route, and then from Paletwa by road to Mizoram state in Northeast India. All components of the project, including Sittwe port and power, river dredging, Paletwa jetty, have been completed, except the under construction Zorinpui-Paletwa road. Originally, the project was scheduled to be completed by 2014, but end-to-end project is expected to be fully operational only by December 2023 as per November 2023 update.
Agartala Railway Station is located 5.5 km (3.4 mi) from Agartala in Tripura, India. It is the second capital city in northeast India to be connected to the country's railway map, moreover Agartala is the first state capital of independent India to be connected with a rail network. Before 2015 the 413-kilometre (257 mi) route was connected to Lumding with a metre-gauge track, but after the gauge conversion to broad gauge in 2016, the track is connected directly to Guwahati and the rest of India.
The Agartala–Mumbai LTT AC Express is a Superfast fully air-conditioned Express train connecting Agartala and Mumbai.
Mendipathar railway station is a railway station located in Resubelpara Municipal Board Jurisdiction, Meghalaya, India.
Jawaharnagar railway station is a railway station located near Sikaribari of Dhalai district in Tripura.
Sabroom railway station, is a railway station which serves Sabroom town in South Tripura district of Tripura state of India. It is located near Feni River which serves as Bangladesh–India border.
The Republic of India shares borders with several sovereign countries; it shares land borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Pakistan share both land borders as well as maritime borders, while Sri Lanka shares only a maritime border through Ram Setu. India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand, Myanmar, and Indonesia.
Karimganj Junction Railway Station serves the Indian city of Karimganj in Assam. It belongs to Lumding railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is located in Karimganj district. It is the fourth most busiest railway station in Barak Valley. It is also one of the three railway stations serving the city of Karimganj, the others being Longai and New Karimganj. It is one of the oldest railway station in India built in the year 1898 under Assam Bengal Railway. It consists of two platforms with a total of 15 halting trains. It serves as the main halt for all passenger trains from Silchar, Agartala, Dharmanagar, Dullabcherra, Badarpur, and Mahisasan. The station consists of a single Electric-Line.
Murkongselek Railway Station is a main railway station in Dhemaji district, Assam. Its code is MZS. It serves Murkongselek town. The station consists of three platforms. The station has been upgraded to a standard Class II Station. . It is a railway station which connects Assam to Arunachal Pradesh.
The Deoghar–Agartala Weekly Express is an Express train belonging to Northeast Frontier Railway zone that runs between Deoghar Junction in Jharkhand, India and Agartala in Tripura, India. It is currently being operated with 15625/15626 train numbers on a weekly basis.
Maitri Setu is a 1.9-kilometre (1.2 mi) bridge on Feni River which links Sabroom in Tripura, India and Ramgarh in Chittagong, Bangladesh leading to Chittagong port, thus providing a shorter and more economical alternate land route between India's eastern and western states compared to the longer route through Assam. On 9 March 2021, it was officially opened to public by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Sivok-Rangpo Railway Line is a line currently under construction to connect the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim. It branches out from New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line at Sivok railway station, Sevoke Town near Siliguri in Darjeeling district and runs through villages and towns of Kalimpong district of West Bengal and terminates in Rangpo Railway Station in Rangpo, Pakyong District of Sikkim. In the second phase of construction, this line will be extended till Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim, and later to the Nathu La pass, along the border with Tibet. This railway line lies under Northeast Frontier Railway zone Alipurduar railway division. The total length of this railway line between Sevoke and Rangpo is 44.96 Kilometres.
The Guwahati–Dullabcherra Express is an Express train belonging to Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways that runs between Guwahati and Dullabcherra via old Karimganj Junction in the Indian state of Assam. It is currently being operated with 15617/15618 train numbers on a tri-weekly basis. It runs as an overnight train from Guwahati and as a Day-Night train from Dullabcherra.
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