- Aizawl will join India's rail network with the new Bairabi-Sairang broad gauge line
- PM Modi to inaugurate the railway line and flag off the Rajdhani Express from Aizawl to Delhi on Saturday
- The project cost Rs 8,213.72 crore and includes four new stations, 48 tunnels, and over 150 bridges
More than 172 years after the British introduced railways to India, Aizawl, the capital city of the northeastern state of Mizoram, is set to get this mode of transportation and will join the vast Indian railways network.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Mizoram on Saturday to inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang broad gauge railway line and flag off the first Rajdhani Express between Aizawl and Delhi, which is scheduled to start its weekly services starting September 19.
According to the Northeast Frontier Railway, the Rajdhani Express will cover 2,510 km in 43 hours and 25 minutes, with an average speed of 57.81 km per hour. The inaugural run on September 13 will follow a different schedule, but the stops, number of coaches, and other details will remain the same as the regular service.
The 51.38-km-long Bairabi-Sairang broad gauge railway line project is part of the Centre's Act East policy, will link Aizawl with Assam's Silchar town and then the rest of the country, and will bring Mizoram within the fold of India's railway network for the first time.
The project sanctioned in 2008-2009 was executed by the Northeast Frontier Railway at the cost of Rs. 8,213.72 crore.
PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in 2014, and its construction was completed within 10 years, starting from 2015, news agency PTI reported.
Route And Schedule Of The Train
On its inaugural run, the 20-coach train will leave Sairang station, 22 km from Aizawl, at 10:00 am tomorrow and arrive at Delhi's Anand Vihar station at 7:30 am on Monday.
The regular services of the train number 20597 will start from September 19, departing Sairang every Saturday at 4:30 pm, and reaching Anand Vihar at 10:50 am on Monday. The return journey, as train number 20598, will leave Anand Vihar at 7:50 pm on Monday and arrive at Sairang at 3:15 pm on Tuesday.
The train will stop at 21 stations between Sairang and Anand Vihar, including major ones like Guwahati, New Cooch Behar, New Jalpaiguri, Malda Town, Bhagalpur, Patna, Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction, and Kanpur.
From Bairabi to Guwahati, a diesel engine will be used since the Bairabi-Sairang line is not yet electrified. At Guwahati, the diesel engine will be replaced with an electric one for the rest of the journey to Anand Vihar.
With four new railway stations - Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang, and Sairang - the project cost Rs 8,071 crore, and passes through steep hills, deep gorges, and dense forests, with 48 tunnels en route, and over 150 bridges.
Due to the unavailability of construction materials such as sand, stones, chips, and others in Mizoram, the Railways had to source them from nearby states Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, and others through roadways and railways, news agency PTI reported.
Now that the rail connectivity has been established, residents from Kolasib and Aizawl districts in Mizoram will stand to reap the benefits of easier, efficient, and affordable travel facilities. Until now, train travel in Mizoram has been limited to the Silchar-Bairabi route in Assam. Additionally, traveling by road from Silchar to Aizawl, a distance of about 150 km, could cost up to 1,000 rupees. Now, the same journey by train will cost less than Rs 80, which will enable the residents to avail better healthcare, education, and business services in hubs such as Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, and Silchar.
Another highlight of this route is India's second-highest railway bridge, standing at 114 meters - 42 meters taller than the Qutub Minar.
Once operational, the new line will cut travel time between Aizawl and Guwahati from 16 hours by road to just 12 hours by train and between Aizawl and Silchar from nearly 7 hours by road to just 3 hours, officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
