Railway projects in Northeastern region see major push

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: A total of 12 railway projects, comprising 8 new line projects and 4 doubling projects, with a combined length of 777 km and an estimated cost of Rs 69,342 crore, have been sanctioned across the Northeastern Region (NER), including Assam.

In the implementation of these projects, a combined length of 278 km has already been commissioned, with an expenditure of Rs 41,676 crore incurred until March 2025.

This was revealed by an NF Railway official.

The budgetary allocation for railway infrastructure and safety works in the NER, including Assam, has increased nearly five-fold, from an average of Rs 2,122 crore in the financial years of 2009-2010 to 2013-14. However, in financial year 2025-26, this has increased to Rs 10,440 crore, he said.

Between 2009 and 2014, only 333 km of new tracks were commissioned in the region, averaging 66.6 km per year. This rose sharply to 1,840 km during 2014-2025, with an average of 167.27 km per year, about 2.5 times higher.

Key projects were commissioned to improve rail connectivity in the Barak Valley region, which include the Bairabi-Sairang New Line (51.38 km) at a cost of Rs 8,601 crore and the Katakhal-Bairabi Gauge Conversion (84 km) costing Rs 348 crore.

Earlier, the crucial Lumding-Badarpur-Silchar and Badarpur-Kumarghat gauge conversion (412 km) project, costing Rs 6,500 crore, significantly improved rail movement in Barak Valley.

Significantly, several large projects falling fully or partly in Assam and the NER have been commissioned since 2014, including the Bogibeel Bridge (Rs 5,820 crore), the Agartala-Sabroom New Line (Rs 3,170 crore) and the Rangiya-Murkongselek Gauge Conversion (Rs 3,019 crore). Multiple doubling projects such as Digaru-Hojai, Lumding-Hojai, and New Bongaigaon-Agthori were undertaken.

Major ongoing projects in NER include Jiribam-Imphal New Line (Rs 21,886 crore), Dimapur-Kohima New Line (Rs 15,230 crore), New Bongaigaon-Goalpara-Guwahati Doubling (Rs 4,962 crore) and New Saraighat Bridge (Rs 1,474 crore).

The official clarified that timelines for completion vary, and delays are mainly due to factors such as land acquisition, forest and wildlife clearances, geological challenges, utility shifting, and law-and-order issues.

In a bid to speed up pending works, especially in the Barak Valley, the railways have taken up several measures, including a substantial increase in funding, delegation of powers at field level, close monitoring at multiple levels and regular coordination with state governments for faster land acquisition and clearances.

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