Arunachal to be part of rail map : NEFR official

Itanagar, Feb 29: Arunachal Pradesh will soon be included in the railway map of the country with the North East Frontier Railway (NEFR) planning to flag off the first train service from Naharlagun on December 12 next.

NEFR Deputy Chief Engineer S. Kanojia gave this assurance to Governor J J Singh after an aerial visit of the ongoing project last evening, official sources said.

"Sir, this is my word...that the train would be flagged off on the scheduled date," Kanojia assured the former Army chief during the trip, the sources said.

Kanojia informed that all train services were suspended along the 450-km Rangia-Murkongselek line in Assam for its conversion from meter to broad gauge under the Centre’s massive expansion programme and the work for the mega block began simultaneously all along the route in September last year.

He said while the Rangia-Rangapara portion would be completed by March next, the Rangapara-North Lakhimpur portion would be over by December 12 and North Lakhimpur-Murkongselek by March 2013.

About 80 per cent of the 20-Km Harmuti-Naharlagun route that also comprises 50 culverts and bridges have been completed with railway tracks laid at many portions. "We would meet the deadline," he said.

PTI