The first broad gauge passenger train from Silchar to Guwahati was today flagged off by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu through remote control here.
The passenger train from Silchar will cover a distance of 210 km in eight hours to reach Guwahati through Lumding, reducing the travelling time by four hours.
Earlier, it took 12 hours to cover the distance on the metre gauge line.
Describing the event as “historic”, Prabhu said, “People of south Assam are getting an important railway connectivity with rest of the nation. Today, we are introducing a new train between Guwahati and Silchar after conversion of Lumding-Silchar metre gauge line into broad gauge.”
Broad gauge connectivity to Silchar is expected to benefit the people of Barak Valley and also to the other Northeastern states like Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur.
Promising to introduce more trains in the NE region in the near future, Prabhu said, “Goods trains are already running in this section since March 2015. The BG conversion will fulfill the long cherished demand of the people of Barak Valley to have a seamless connectivity.”
Highlighting the importance of NE, he said railways are committed to improve its infrastructure in the region and pointed out that all the eight states are dear to the people in the country.
“Rail connectivity to North Eastern States has been made a mission by the new government, as we provided an all-time high budget allotment of Rs 5200 crores to the projects in this region in 2014-15 which is over 50 per cent more than 2013-14. This tempo has been maintained in 2015-16 also by providing Rs 5300 crores,” he said.
Prabhu said all capitals of north eastern states would be connected by rail.
Earlier Itanagar, the capital of Arunachal Pradesh was connected to the national capital through a direct train.
Referring to the excellent relations between India and Bangladesh, he said Indian Railways will also work for better connectivity with Bangladesh.
Stressing the importance of rail infrastructure, he said development of infrastructure will also help youth in a big way as they will get better opportunities for skill development.
“The better railway connectivity will also provide better marketing facilities. Railways have been playing a major role in serving the infrastructural needs of the Northeast and will continue to contribute to the socio-economic development of this region,” he added.