Trial passenger coach reaches Agartala

Agartala, Aug 7 (UNI) A passenger train with three coaches, on trial run, successfully reached Agartala with 80 railway officials, including Railway Safety Commission Chairman Balbir Singh.

Railway officials said here today that the passenger trains would start arriving regularly at Agartala from Ambassa, about 68 km away, only after getting clearance from the Railway Safety Commission and commercial run is expected to be started from August 15.

The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities had been preparing to start commercial railway service upto Agartala on the Independence Day and all the arrangements for the purpose have already been completed, a senior NFR official said.

The officials pointed out that as part of security measures, a huge contingent of paramilitary troops and Railway Protection Force (RPF) had been deployed while bullet-proof coaches and protective jackets were provided to the crew members in the insurgency-hit hill section of southern Assam that links Tripura and Mizoram.

Train services in this section had been suspended since May 15 after a spurt in militant activities, adversely affecting rail transport in Tripura, Mizoram, parts of Manipur, besides the three districts of southern Assam - Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi.

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