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 2030est. [1]
The Northeast region is a strategically important area to counter China. These state are connected to India through the very narrow area of Siliguri Corridor. After China's claims over the Doklam area of Bhutan and India, it has become important for India to boost connectivity in this region. [2] [3]
The project PM Gati Shakti aims to boost connectivity across the country and to connect all the capitals of Indian states. [4] 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.
The railway will also be used to develop tourism in this region. [5] In 2023, various deluxe trains begans operations connecting major locations such as Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati (Assam), Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Unakoti in Tripura, Cherrapunji in Meghalaya, and Dimapur in Nagaland. [6] [7]
Currently the three capitals Guwahati, Itanagar and Agartala are linked with railways. [8]
See map of under-construction rail lines in Northeast India.
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 | [9] |
Bairabi–Sairang line | From Bairabi, Kolasib district | Mizoram | 51.38 | [10] |
Jiribam–Imphal line | From Jiribam, Jiribam district To Imphal, Imphal district | Manipur | 110.63 | [11] |
Dhansiri–Zubza line | From Dhansiri(Dimapur), Dimapur district | Nagaland | 82.5 | [12] |
Tetelia-Byrnihat line | From Tetelia(Guwahati), Kamrup district To Byrnihat, Ri-Bhoi district | Assam and Meghalaya | 22 | [13] |
The Government of two countries signed MoU for railway project linking Akhaurah, Bangladesh and Agartala of Tripura, India. [22] The project is expected to be completed in mid-2023. [23] NFR also conducted surveys for Belonia-Chittagong rail link. [24]
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. [18] Additionally, a route from Tripura to Bangladesh is proposed to enhance the region's integration into the TAR network. [22]
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