Kuria

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways o­n 3^rd February, 2023 held an interaction with media persons of Northeast virtually from New Delhi in connection with the Railway Budget 2023-24. Shri Anshul Gupta, General Manager of N. F. Railway and senior railway officials of Headquarters were also present. Similar programme was also held in all the divisions of N. F. Railway where Divisional Railway Managers were participated. Media persons from different places joined virtually. While addressing the media persons, the Minister of Railways informed that a capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways. This year allocation is the highest ever outlay which is about 9 times outlay made in 2013-14 and 51% more than the last year.

The Minister of Railways said that 59 stations in Northeast to be developed with world class amenities/facilities. Keeping in view the heritage concept of ‘Virasat Bhi, Vikas Bhi’, he informed that 310 old train coaches will be converted to LHB coaches for better riding experience and comfortable journey for the passengers. During last year, 445 KM of railway tracks have been electrified in Assam. 15 station each in all divisions of NFR to be developed under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme.

During the interaction, the Minister informed that adequate fund has been allotted for overall development of railway infrastructure in all North Eastern states. For the first time, an amount of Rs. 1.20 lakh crore has been earmarked for connecting the hilly and border areas.

Moreover, the Gross Budget Allocation for N. F. Railway for the FY 2023-24 is Rs. 10,988.80crore. It is 13.75% more than previous year’s allotment (Rs 9,660.14 Crs). The allocation for North-eastern states is Rs. 10,269 crore which is about Rs. 300 crore higher than the last year.This year budget allocation shows unprecedented growth in several segments like new line and doubling projects, track renewal works, traffic facilities, road safety works, bridge works, signalling, workshop modernisation and customer amenities etc. Around Rs. 6591 crore has been allocated for new lines while it is Rs. 1364 crore for doubling of railway tracks. The Minister of Railways also informed that total railway infrastructure projects of Rs. 75,795 crore are going o­n in entire North-eastern region.

Adequate allocation has been made for early execution of all the o­ngoing works. Around Rs. 1100 crore has been allocated for Dimapur - Kohima new line projects while Rs. 800 crore is earmarked for execution of the Jiribam - Imphal new line projects. Other capital connectivity projects in the North-eastern states such as Sivok - Rangpo new line projects in Sikkim gets Rs. 2350 crore while Rs. 915 crore has been allocated for Bairabi – Sairang new line projects in Mizoram. Among other new line projects, Rs. 200 crore for Agartala – Akhaura international connectivity project between India and Bangladesh and around Rs. 700 crore is allocated for Araria – Galgalia project.

Rs. 600 crore for New Bongaigaon – Rangiya – Kamakhya and Rs. 500 crore for New Bongaigaon- Goalpara – Kamakhya have been allocated for speedy execution of the o­ngoing track doubling works. Moreover, Rs. 115 crore has been allocated for the doubling works between Katihar – Kumedpur and Katihar – Mukuria sections to further improve train connectivity to and from Northeast.

It is to be mentioned here that Agthori station near Guwahati will be redeveloped with world class facilities at a cost of Rs. 517 crore.

In a major step forward in enhancing the rail connectivity in N.F. Railway, the doubling of rail line between Katihar – Kumedpur and Katihar – Mukuria have been sanctioned and adequate funds have been allocated for its speedy execution. The doubling of these lines was included in the union budget 2020-21. Rs. 942.64 crore has been sanctioned for this doubling project of 64.14 km stretch. The stretch from Katihar – Kumedpur is of 29.53 km and Katihar – Mukuria is of 34.61 km.

The rail route from Katihar/Malda Town to Dibrugarh is the main cardinal route of N.F. Railway system. This important rail route connects the North-eastern region comprising seven states with the remaining states of India. o­n completion of doubling of Katihar- Kumdepur, and Katihar – Mukuria lines, there will be four lines connectivity from Katihar to North-eastern states which will help in better mobility of railway traffic to North-eastern states with other parts of India. It will further help in better movement of railway traffic to neighbouring countries i.e. Nepal with the eastern port of India which will further boost the economy of India. Moreover, it will boost the overall development of the region of Katihar district of Bihar and Malda district of West Bengal. The project is targeted to be completed by 2025.

Under ‘Act Northeast Policy’, Government of India has been investing hugely in the infrastructure sector including agriculture which will bound to increase the transportations need, traffic load is likely to increase very significantly o­n this route. After completion of these doubling line traffic congestion in the existing single line section between Katihar – Kumedpur and Katihar – Mukuria would be eased and this would pave way for more transition of both freight and passenger trains. NFR is committed to contribute relentlessly in the pursuit of enhancing railway infrastructure and connectivity under its jurisdiction.