Lumding-Silchar railway track opened for goods traffic

300-metre long diversion constructed at Migrendisa in Dima Hasao to bypass areas showing lateral soil movement

Our Bureau & Agencies

Haflong/ Silchar, July 7: The broad gauge line of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) between Lumding and Silchar was restored on Thursday, almost two months after it was damaged by heavy rains.

The restoration of the rail traffic will be a great relief for southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur which are linked to the railway network of India through the NFR line.

Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) chief public relations officer (CPRO) Prav Jyoti Sharma said a new 300-metre track was laid to divert the route slightly at the problematic spot in Migrendisa in Dima Hasao district of southern Assam.

“After due deliberation and consultation with geo-technical experts, it was decided to construct a 300 metre long diverted portion by-passing the areas showing lateral movements. The work for construction of the diverted portion was taken up on June 17. After that, ballast cushion was laid and track linking was done. During the period about 4 lakh cubic metre of earth was cut down and one culvert was constructed. About 500 men worked round the clock with 17 heavy earth cutting machines, 30 dumpers, 2 excavators, one rock breaker despite frequent rain.  Geo-synthetic materials have been used in consultation with geo-technical experts to cover the locations indicating presence of argillaceous soil,” a press release from NF Railways said. “After running goods train on the route on experimental basis for a few days, we will decide on resuming normal passenger train service,” he said.

Huge landslides triggered by downpours damaged the NFR track on April 27 last. Goods train traffic was restored on May 6, only to be disrupted again from May 13 onwards. That cut off southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and parts of Manipur from the railway network.

The NFR converted the 110 years old metre gauge line to broad gauge last year in south Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram. However, poor soil conditions are hampering running of trains on certain sections.

The Guwahati-Silchar rail route is the lifeline for southern Assam comprising Cachar, Karimganj, Hailakandi, Dima Hasao districts, and the mountainous states of Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram.  The region is dependent on the rail line for supply of foodgrains, essential commodities, fertilizers, petroleum products, construction materials and other goods.