North-East India Railway developments

[Madurai]

Thanks.

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Source
Of bridging the gap between Assam and Arunachal

The country’s longest rail-cum-road bridge is coming up over the mighty Brahmaputra River near Dibrugarh in the North-East and is expected to be over by 2015. The bridge is strategically located and on completion, it would sharply cut down on the distance and travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

To construct this 4.9 km long bridge over Brahmaputra, Railways constructed two separate guide bunds (of 2.7 and 2 km) on its banks to narrow the width of the Brahmaputra from 10.3 km to almost its half. The bridge will be supported on 42 pillars of which 32 are already being constructed.

“The composite welded steel structure of the bridge means it would be a maintenance free structure. Paints used will have 50 years life,” claims Ajit Pandit, the chief engineer of the project.

Northeast Frontier Railways’ Chief Public Relations Officer Situsing Hajong says the Bogibeel Bridge over Brahmputra was a giant leap towards strengthening of the Railway infrastructure in the Northeastern region. “China has developed rail and road infrastructure near the Indian border and we are also striving to take rail closer to the border,” Hajong said.

Railway officials claim that the Bogibeel Bridge will accelerate socio-economic development in Upper Assam and eastern part of Arunchal Pradesh, which currently has no railway line.

The bridge featuring a double line broad gauge track and a 3-lane road will facilitate will connect two existing railway networks at south and noth banks. It starts from Chaulkhowa Station and Moranhat station at South bank and joins in between Sisibargaon station and Siripani Station of Rangiya-Mukongselek section at north bank.

Also, it will provide connectivity between north and south banks of Brahmaputra. The closest Tezpur Bridge over the river is a few hundred km away from the Bogibeel Bridge.

However, slow pace of the project remains a concern. Then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee inaugurated the project in April 2002. Since then the project cost has almost doubled from Rs1,767 crore to Rs 3,230.02. Till date, a total of Rs 2,404 crore has been spent on it.

“In fact, the pace of the work boosted up after getting the status of the national project in 2007. Prior to that, the availability of funds was limited. Moreover, we get just three to four months to work on the site, because the remaining period is affected by incessant rains and floods in Brahmaputra,” Pandit argued.

Railways plan to connect all the capital cities of Northeast by 2017. But, officials admit, land acquisition and delay in execution of survey may push the deadline further.

[gentem]

BORDER LINKS
FOUND! HIDDEN ROAD TO CHINA
There’s the 1,740 km Stilwell Road running through Assam that connects India with China right now. But a new film shows 300 km is all that separates us from our neighbour
Manimugdha S Sharma | TNN

There has always been this old lore about a hidden road to China through the north-east. One of the earliest Muslim conquerors who wanted to find out more about it was Muhammad Bakhtiyar Khilji, the general of Qutubuddin Aibek, the first Sultan of Delhi. In 1206, he entered Assam seeking passage to Tibet; but the expedition ended in disaster as the local king, Prithu, defeated him and destroyed his army. Several centuries later, Aurangzeb sent an expedition to Assam under his premier noble, Mir Jumla. Although the primary brief to him was to subjugate the “unruly Assamese”, Aurangzeb wanted his armies to conquer territories of the Qing empire in China.
The Mughals may have had information about a shorter and less difficult route to China. But it were the British who first mapped this road in the 19th century. Now, almost 150 years later, a filmmaker claims to have found the road that could give India the fastest land access to China.
‘Road To China’, a 26-minute documentary by Mrinal Talukdar, highlights the road that starts from Tinsukia in upper Assam and traverses a distance of some 300 km through hilly terrain before reaching Kaho, the last village near the Line of Actual Control. Talukdar believes this road needs to be opened up to facilitate bilateral trade between India and China, which stands at $74 billion. With India planning to expand it to $100 bn by 2015, this road could become a vital link between both countries.
“I had first undertaken a journey to trace the Tsangpo river from the point it entered India till it became the mighty Brahmaputra. It was then that I learnt about this road,” Talukdar says. He believes it’s a better alternative to the 1,740 km Stilwell Road which connects Ledo in Assam to Kunming in Yunnan province of China. India had thought of opening it up in 2004 but abandoned it due to the physical difficulties.
“It would have required us to clear 400 km of forests and collaborate with the military junta in Myanmar, as over 1,000 km of the road passes through that country. But this road is only 300 km and takes you right up to China’s doorstep. It doesn’t need any major infrastructure development as it leads to the border beyond which China has all-weather four-lane highways connected to the interiors of the country.”
According to Cambridge University scholar Berenice Guyot-Rechard, when the British explored Lohit Valley, they found that although isolated from the rest of India, it served as a corridor between Assam and China. Traders, pilgrims, smugglers and even prostitutes used it. The two biggest cities on this route were Sadiya (Assam) and Rima (China). Today, Tinsukia has replaced Sadiya, while Rima has disappeared from the map.
In the film, Talukdar undertakes the fascinating journey himself. He takes the Rajdhani Express from Guwahati to Tinsukia and then takes a 30-minute ride to reach Dirak Gate on the Assam-Arunachal border. Permits are needed for any onward journey. The NH52 then takes him to Namsai, Chowkham, Parashuram Kund, Hailyung, Walong and Kibithu, the brigade HQ of the Indian Army. Civilian movement beyond Kibithu is restricted as the Chinese border is close by. The town is strongly defended. But during the 1962 war, Red Army soldiers conquered the loosely defended town of Walong. After the war, the road was closed.
When C S Jenow, the deputy commissioner of Anjaw district, Arunachal Pradesh, was asked if the road could be opened up someday for trade, he said, “Trade is all right but the government needs to factor in potentially dangerous aspects. The British empire’s opium trade had its ripples in the region. Tirap and Lohit districts in Arunachal became part of it. That threat is still there as the area is close to the Golden Triangle. Once you throw open the border, it might become difficult to control it.” Talukdar’s dream could take a while to come true.
manimugdha.sharma@timesgroup.com


This road going to Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh is part of an ancient corridor between India and China


The yellow line shows the hidden road from Assam to Kaho in Arunachal Pradesh, which is close to China. The red line is the 1,740 km Stilwell Road which passes through Myanmar

We can have railway link with china on this new road.. Along lohit river. But due to military fear of china india not doing it, nor even road to kailas manasarovar in uttarakhand border

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=28.3508783...12&l=0&m=b&v=8

[jaadu]

If only we can have better relationship with China then it will open vast opportunities in the North East !!

[anujkb]

Originally Posted by gentem

BORDER LINKS
FOUND! HIDDEN ROAD TO CHINA
There’s the 1,740 km Stilwell Road running through Assam that connects India with China right now. But a new film shows 300 km is all that separates us from our neighbour
Manimugdha S Sharma | TNN



We can have railway link with china on this new road.. Along lohit river. But due to military fear of china india not doing it, nor even road to kailas manasarovar in uttarakhand border

http://wikimapia.org/#lat=28.3508783...12&l=0&m=b&v=8

You say something without even thinking.......

The best (& quickest to build) rail untill China is only thru MANA border. Some 120 km (or even less) from Karnprayag, present proposed railhead.

Along Lohit river, We have the Dumduma- parsuramkund link proposed to be done by 2020 (survey is completed). Then we also have bridging the mighty Siang by extending north bank line from Murkeongselek to Pasighat.

Right now reaching Kibithu takes 2 days from Dibrugarh itself (under average conditions- a safari had done it in 14 hrs also).

As the people of arunachal say- First imrpove the roads, then move on to railways!

And there is nothing much there (very less population beyond even Tezu for that matter). Note that these districts are the least populated dists of India. (check census 2011)

##

Just for your info--->

look out for ELEPHANTS TRAIL to Burma Via Vijoynagar. Its an interesting read.

[gentem]

You are mistaken, we want railway connection to china plains, esp. east china, not to tibet plateau from uttarakhand. East china is where we have to connect. Dum duma to Lijiang is 600km, not bad, out of which 200km is in india. Chinese will build 400km in 4 months

Another option is to connect near ladakh to xijiang in northwest china, but that is still far from east china where most production happens. So far that waterway is much cheaper.

[PlaneMad]

Railways there will remain just a dream till we find some tree which grows money. Its mountains, mountains and mounatins
http://osm.org/go/5GITC~-?layers=C

But i dont get why the article says its a hidden road. Its always been there.

[gentem]

not much white seen in google maps terrain though, between Tinsukia, Dequen and Lijiang railhead.

http://www.google.com/maps?ll=27.771...+India&t=p&z=7

[PlaneMad]

Altitude matters less than terrain ruggedness. Thats a lot of mountainous terrain cutting across multiple valleys which is humungous amount of earthwork. The lhasa line in comparison is pretty straightforward, permafrost but flat terrain.
A road probably, but rail, no way.

This is a good view: http://osm.org/go/5DnWn--?layers=T
You need to cut through multiple N-S river valley. Thats some 150 kms of alternating tunnels and bridges

[anujkb]

Originally Posted by gentem

You are mistaken, we want railway connection to china plains, esp. east china, not to tibet plateau from uttarakhand. East china is where we have to connect. Dum duma to Lijiang is 600km, not bad, out of which 200km is in india. Chinese will build 400km in 4 months

Another option is to connect near ladakh to xijiang in northwest china, but that is still far from east china where most production happens. So far that waterway is much cheaper.

So you were focussing on Indo china rail connectivity? Why not try the Nathula itself? Sevoke-Rangpo is under construction (work seems to have started just now), Rangpo-Gangtok is slated to complete by 2017 (survey completed, approval awaiting), and Gangtok-Nathula leg of some 50 km remains.. which is not that difficult (i visited the terrains hence can comment). Then Nathula-Shigatse seems much simpler terrain than the one after crossing Kibithu. Onwards, Shigatse is already connected to mainland china by rail via Lhasa.

Anyways was thinking, WHY SHOULD THere be any direct rail connectivity at all, from say beijing-delhi or the likes? A pretty common sense tells you to avoid himalayas and use SE asia. Had bangla-myanmar relations been good (they are much much worse than N&S Korea also) then it was merely a cakewalk.

For the ships, I guess a canal under construction (some 30 km) thru Thailand-malaysia border @ thailand would save a lot of travel.

[gentem]

That is also good option, but little roundabout route than this new road.

Originally Posted by PlaneMad

Altitude matters less than terrain ruggedness. Thats a lot of mountainous terrain cutting across multiple valleys which is humungous amount of earthwork. The lhasa line in comparison is pretty straightforward, permafrost but flat terrain.
A road probably, but rail, no way.

This is a good view: http://osm.org/go/5DnWn--?layers=T
You need to cut through multiple N-S river valley. Thats some 150 kms of alternating tunnels and bridges

3-4 mountain passes are to be crossed, elsewhere line can go along rivers.

Mountain passes on chinese side they have enough money. Our side railway line along lohit river thats it

[gentem]

Originally Posted by purty_trash

An article I read about Chinese HSR aspirations (includes a mention of India as well).

China’s Land Bridge to Turkey Creates New Eurasian Geopolitical Potentials

...and some maps from the said article>>




This is a HUGE thing they're talking about but these are very exciting possibilities, the kind that make the rail lovers

I'm scraping off my dropped jaw from the floor.

And please don't go ballistic on me for talking about an HSR from a different nation (or, in this case, a different realm). It's not like we're discussing anything concrete on this forum anyway. (yeah, yeah... bite me!)

Connected to chinese city of Kunming

[Bombay2Calcutta]

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/...=may1412/oth05
MP dubs NF Rly as ‘NE Forgotten Railways’
Spl correspondent
NEW DELHI, May 13 – Lamenting poor train services in the region, MPs describing the North East Frontier Railways, as the ‘North East Forgotten Railways’ called for better connectivity and expeditious completion of pending national projects.
Participating in the discussion on the Railway Appropriation Bill in the Rajya Sabha, Pankaj Bora said: “ours is not the ‘North-East Frontier Railways’, but ‘The North-East Forgotten Railways’!

There was a proposal by the Railway Ministry to connect all the capital towns of the North East, but, still, it is in a conceptual stage, he stated.

It is not because we want to travel somewhere, but our people have to travel to Mumbai and Chennai, and also to Delhi because of medical reasons. We do not get reservation directly from Dibrugarh, Guwahati, to Delhi,” he said.

Urging the Railway Ministry to give more stress on rail connectivity in the North East, Bora said that the Northeastern region needs faster trains and electrification. “We do not have a single kilometer of electric train in Assam or the North East,” he lamented.

“Coaches are in an absolutely dilapidated condition. We do not have Express Trains. At least 75 new Express trains were announced in the Budget but the eight States in the North East, have been provided only three,” he said.

Besides, 84 proposals have been sent to the Planning Commission for appraisal, but only six proposals are for the North East.

Bora suggested that Duronto trains should be introduced from Guwahati to Mumbai via Kolkata and another from Guwahati to Chennai.” He said the State Government has demanded North-East Frontier Railways, for all administrative purposes, be declared ‘Dedicated Railways for the North-East Frontier.’

Joining the discussion, Biren Baishya said the Indian Railways is the lifeline of India but, the role of the Indian Railways towards the Northeastern region is nothing but the story of negligence, nothing but the story of ignorance and nothing but the story of discrimination.

Pointing out that 95 per cent of the railway lines belonging to Assam were constructed during the British regime, Baishya said that even after 64 years of Independence there is not a single electric railway line in Assam. Most of the capital cities in the Northeastern States are not connected by the Railways, Baishya said.

Construction of Bogibeel Bridge was undertaken but in the last 14 years not even one-fourth of this bridge has been completed. Further for the construction of a railway tunnel between Lumding and Badarpur Railways have taken 13 years.

In the last Railway Budget, the then Railway Minister had announced two new modern hospitals; one at Guwahati and another one at Rangapara. But the fate of these hospitals is not known, Baishya said.

The gauge conversion between Rangapara and Murkongselek has now stopped and no work is going on for the last several months.

He also urged the Railway Ministry to establish a Sports Academy in the Region for the development of sports.

Participating in the discussion, Kumar Deepak Das said even after sixty years of Independence, there is no double line, no electrified railways. Even gauge conversion of the existing rail lines has not been completed till date.

The survey for the new railway line between Jogighopa-Amingaon via Barpeta was done recently but the Railway Minister should assure that the Budget provision for commissioning of the project will be provided during this financial year.

In the last Budget Session, an Industrial Park was promised in Bongaigaon. But, till date, nothing has come out. Das also urged that the entire area up to Srirampur should be brought under Rangiya division.

He reiterated the demand re-naming of the Puri Express as Sankardeva Express, and naming the newly introduced train between Howrah and Dibrugarh after Dr Bhupen Hazarika. A Duronto train for the North East between Mumbai Central and Guwahati should also be introduced, he added.

[Indtrans]

In coming years we will be able to enjoy the beauty of NE India by travelling in Railway.

[anujkb]

Originally Posted by Indtrans

In coming years we will be able to enjoy the beauty of NE India by travelling in Railway.

what will u be able to enjoy inside tunnels

[Bombay2Calcutta]

Imphal-Jiribam railway line: First locomotive test run held
Imphal , Wed, 16 May 2012 ANI

Imphal, May 16(ANI): The maiden locomotive test run on the under construction Imphal Jiribam railway line was held recently.
The rail line is a part of the 111km long mega project that connects Jiribam to Imphal via Tupul.t will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 4442 crores and will reduce the 220 km road distance to about 100km.
"It will bring a lot of development in the area as well as also help in the rail transportation in the region," said Radheyshyam, General Manager, Chitranjan Locomotive Works.
Work on the project is in full swing and is expected to be completed by 2016. 35 tunnels will be built, of which work on 18 is expected to end soon. 80 large and small bridges will also be constructed.
The rail line will pass through Barak valley and the proposed Tipaumukh dam. It has been declared a national project by the centre.
However, the work at the construction site had slowed down due to problems like land acquisition formalities, rains and militancy.
Several militant groups threaten workers and construction companies and want to extort money from them.
"We planned to complete the constructions by 2014, but in last two years we have lost more than 13 months because of bandhs, strikes and shutdowns," Radheyshyam added.(ANI)

[Bombay2Calcutta]

http://theshillongtimes.com/2012/05/...-rail-project/
Govt hands over land for Garo Hills rail project

SHILLONG: Decks have been cleared for connecting Meghalaya with the rest of the country through a railway line as the State Government has handed over land to the Railways for construction of the 19.47-km long broad gauge line from Dudhnoi in Assam to Mendipathar in East Garo Hills.

East Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, Vijay Kr. Mantri, on Monday informed that the land was handed over to the Railways around one month back.

Earlier, the State Government had handed over 65.09 hectares of land to North Frontier Railways authorities for the project.

Reacting to a query on the status of work, he said that work was on at a full speed but it has been affected due to the bandh called by militant outfits.

Mantri however expressed confidence that the project would be completed within the stipulated deadline of March 2013.

There would be a total of 39 bridges on the railway line out of which nine bridges have already been constructed.

The sanctioned cost of the landmark railway project was Rs 86.22 crore but revised estimates put the figure at Rs 144 crore till final completion of the project.

When asked whether there was any opposition to the railway project, Mantri said, “We are not facing any problems for this project.”

Incidentally, proposals for railway lines in Khasi Hills and Jaintia Hills have met with stiff opposition from the people.

[skganji]

Originally Posted by Bombay2Calcutta

Imphal-Jiribam railway line: First locomotive test run held
Imphal , Wed, 16 May 2012 ANI

Imphal, May 16(ANI): The maiden locomotive test run on the under construction Imphal Jiribam railway line was held recently.
The rail line is a part of the 111km long mega project that connects Jiribam to Imphal via Tupul.t will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 4442 crores and will reduce the 220 km road distance to about 100km.
"It will bring a lot of development in the area as well as also help in the rail transportation in the region," said Radheyshyam, General Manager, Chitranjan Locomotive Works.
Work on the project is in full swing and is expected to be completed by 2016. 35 tunnels will be built, of which work on 18 is expected to end soon. 80 large and small bridges will also be constructed.
The rail line will pass through Barak valley and the proposed Tipaumukh dam. It has been declared a national project by the centre.
However, the work at the construction site had slowed down due to problems like land acquisition formalities, rains and militancy.
Several militant groups threaten workers and construction companies and want to extort money from them.
"We planned to complete the constructions by 2014, but in last two years we have lost more than 13 months because of bandhs, strikes and shutdowns," Radheyshyam added.(ANI)

Great Update. Would like to see if this help Trans-Asian Railway by 2020.

[anujkb]

Just as a small update, the Rangiya-Rangaparanorth- Tezpur line was completed on 1st march (as per schedule) very much hurriedly and then during the locomotive testing before commissioner rail safety train, the locomotive derailed and hence the inauguration of GHY-Tezpur passenger is a bit delayed. Anyways 3 passengers were given to Tezpur in this budget as-

Tezpur-rangiya
tezpur-guwahati
tezpur- NJP (extension of NJP-bongaingaon)

The old tezpur rly station is now abandoned since the route passed thru heavy traffic (road and rail parallel) and several chowks (chariali) which are now fitted with signals. The new tezpur rly station is built at Dekargaon some 3-4 km before the older station. Anyways its pretty well inside the city.

[anidel]

Thanks for updates.
Any development in other NE projects?