DIGARU

Shri Rajen Gohain, Minister of State of Railways today dedicated the newly constructed double line section between Hojai – Habaipur at Hojai. He also inaugurated newly constructed station buildings and passenger amenities at Hojai, Lanka, Dhalphukhuri and Habaipur. Shri Shiladitya Deb, MLA / Hojai, Shri Sibu Misra, MLA / Lumding, Shri N. K. Prasad, General Mangager (CON) / N.F. Railway, Shri Sanjive Roy, General Mangager / N.F. Railway, Shri Ram Bahadur Rai, Divisional Railway Manager of Lumding Division and other senior officials were present o­n the occasion.

20 km long newly-constructed Broad Gauge Double Line between Hojai and Habaipuris part of the Hojai – Lumding Doubling Project which was sanctioned in 2012-13. The revised cost of the entire project is approximately Rs. 615 crore. The new line has the potential to run passenger traffic at 100 kmph. This line will greatly help in removing traffic congestion o­n the section and improve punctuality of trains o­n the crucial Guwahati – Lumding section. The four stations in the section which were also inaugurated today have various provisions for differently-abled persons including ramps and toilets for Divyanjans. Thesestations are also provided with all passenger amenities like waiting halls, foot over bridges, drinking water, covered platform and large passenger circulating areas etc.  Hojai & Lanka stations have been provided new façades (photo enclosed) made with toughened glass and aluminium composite panels giving them a modern aesthetically pleasing look. It may be mentioned here that construction of double line is under progress for the entire stretch from Digaru to Lumding (147 km).

Speaking o­n the occasion, Shri Rajen Gohain said that work of doubling of Digaru to Hojai and from Habaipur to Lumding is going o­n in full swing and would be completed by the end of March 2020. Since 2014, Rs 28905 Cr has been allocated for construction projects which is about twice the fund of Rs 12660 Cr allocated during 2009 to 2014.

In line with Govt. of India’s effort towards transformation of NE region through improved transportation as announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi; Railway Budget 2019-20 has allocated adequate fund for undertaking and completion of various projects. Plan Outlay for the year 2019-20 has been set a Rs. 4,230.12 crs. While an amount of Rs. 2,834.90 crs has been kept for new line construction during the period. The budget has put more emphasis o­n bridge repairing works, acquiring Machinery & Plants and modernization of workshops. The allocation for undertaking new Passenger Amenity related works has been increased by more than double to Rs. 187.17 crores from last year’s allocation of Rs. 91.01 crs.

In this year’s budget, some of the important new line projects where funds have been allocated are as follows:

1.Rs. 850.00 crs allocated to the Jiribam – Imphal new railway line project (98 kms) which will be connecting the capital of Manipur with the main land through BG line.

2.Rs. 500.00 crs allocated to the Dimapur – Kohima new railway line project (88 kms) which will be connecting the capital of Nagaland through BG line.

3.Rs. 750.00 crs allocated for the Bhairabi – Sairang new BG railway line project (51.38 kms) in Mizoram.

4.Rs. 200.00 crs allocated for the Sivok – Rangpo new BG railway line project (44.39 kms) which will provide first rail connectivity to Sikkim.

5.Rs. 125.00 crs allocated for the Teteliya – Byrnihat new BG railway line project (21.5 kms) which will ultimately connect Shillong the capital of Meghalaya.

6.Rs. 100.00 crs allocated for the balance portion of the Agartala – Sabroom new BG railway line project (110 kms).

7.Rs. 100.00 crs allocated for the Agartala – Akhaura (Bangladesh) new BG railway line project (13 kms). This will provide international connectivity between India and Bangladesh.

Apart from new BG railway line works adequate fund has also been provided for various track doubling works. Some of them as follows:

1.Rs. 250 crs has been allocated for doubling of the railway track between Digaru and Hojai stations (102 kms) under Lumding Division.

2.Rs. 200 crs has been allocated for doubling of the railway track between Hojai and Lumding stations (44.90 kms).

3.Rs. 225 crs has been allocated for undertaking track doubling of the New Bongaigaon – Goalpara – Kamakhya section (176 kms).

4.Rs. 200 crs has been allocated for doubling of the railway track (51.65 kms) between New Maynaguri - Gumanihat under Alipurduar stations.

Apart from above, Rs. 10 crs has been allocated for improvement of various coaching complex. And Rs. 66.12 crs has been allocated for modernization of Workshops and Rs. 21.21 crs for purchase of various machineries.These steps will help in better maintenance of passenger trains.