North East Railway Connectivity Gets Big Boost As Centre Introduces New Trains, Routes In Region

The two new trains launched on Thursday were the Dullabcherra-Guwahati tri-weekly train and the Agartala-Sabroom DEMU train.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma flags off one of the new trains at Guwahati Railway Station.

Source : NF Railway

Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, along with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, on Thursday flagged off two new trains and two routes.

 

The two trains were the Dullabcherra-Guwahati tri-weekly train and the Agartala-Sabroom DEMU train. The two routes are the extension of the Guwahati-Secunderabad Express up to Silchar in Southern Assam and the extension of the Kamakhya-Lokmanya Tilak Express up to Tripura's Agartala.

 

The routes and trains were flagged off by Vaishnaw via video conferencing from New Delhi. Speaking on the occasion, Minister Vaishnaw said, “In the last nine years, the northeastern states have changed a lot and the change is discernible on the ground. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has visited the region more than 60 times, which is more than the visits by the previous Prime Ministers."

 

"In the Railways, various development projects have been going on in the region. The Railways has allotted an annual budget of around Rs 10,269 crore for the northeast. Earlier, it was around Rs 2,122 crore. The Railways projects are progressing swiftly in the northeastern states. Two more Vande Bharat trains are planned for the region. The Indian Railways is working for the overall transformation of the northeastern states,” Minister Vaishnaw added.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid emphasis on the development of the northeastern states since he assumed office. It is an important day as Assam is getting an extension of one train to the Barak Valley, one train is being extended to Agartala and one train is being introduced to the remote area of Dullabcherra. I thank Prime Minister Modi and Railway Minister Vaishnaw for this initiative.”

 

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said, “We are thankful to the Prime Minister and the Railway Minister for augmenting the rail connectivity in the state. It will boost the connectivity in remote areas and give impetus to trade and tourism in the state.”

 

Extension of the Guwahati-Secunderabad Express up to Silchar will provide direct connectivity between Assam's Barak Valley and Secunderabad. It will benefit the people of lower Assam and areas bordering Barak Valley. The regular service of the train will commence on Saturday (October 21), the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) said in a press release.

 

The introduction of the Dullabcherra-Guwahati tri-weekly train (Monday, Wednesday, Saturday) will provide direct connectivity between the remote areas of Dullabcherra and Guwahati benefiting students, businessmen and traders of Dullabcherra, the release said.

 

Extension of the Kamakhya-Lokmanya Tilak Express up to Agartala will be the direct train service between the capital of Tripura and Mumbai. It will benefit the people of the region, traders and patients in Tripura, who travel to Mumbai for medical treatment. The regular service of the train up to Agartala will commence on Sunday (October 22), it added.

 

The release further said that the introduction of the Agartala-Sabroom DEMU train will benefit people from the remote areas of Tripura and will enhance connectivity with the state capital Agartala. It will also boost tourism in the state.