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PM Modi's 'Look-East' policy brings historical moment for Tripura : Agartala to get first BG Engine on wednesday: Ballast train from Badarpur to Agartala on Jan 1st Week: BG service to commence in Tripura soon
Amitabha Sengupta
PM Modi's 'Look-East' policy brings historical moment for Tripura : Agartala to get first BG Engine on wednesday: Ballast train from Badarpur  to Agartala on Jan 1st Week: BG service to commence in Tripura soon
PHOTO : BG Railway engine arrived at Dharmanagar. TIWN Pic Dec 29

AGARTALA / DHARMANAGAR / AMBASSA, Dec 29 (TIWN): Under leadership of Prime Minister Modi and dynamic Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, Tripura witnessed a historical moment on Tuesday when BG (broad gauge) Railway engine entered for first time in Dharmanagar, Northern Tripura. The dream of the broad gauge train in Tripura seems to be not so far. The long wait of northeastern state of Tripura to have direct broad-gauge rail connectivity with rest of India might end by March next year. The first broad-gauge engine will knock the door of the people of Agartala tomorrow. The NFR authorities expected that if everything goes according to the project plan, the whistle of the broad gauge train will be heard by the March.After a long period finally the laying and constructing of Broad Gauge (BG) railway tracks of Mega Block from Badarpur to Agartala has already been completed, said a NFR source. Today’s journey appears successful as far laying of BG track. After running the BG Engine, the NFR is scheduled to run ballast train to Agartala passing through all stations by first week of next month.

If the ballast train run successfully, then the NFR will conduct CRS inspection on the newly built BG rail track for safety clearance by a technical team. And if everything falls in right place, the BG passenger train will start running on the newly built track by March 31 next.The commissioning of laying and constructing of Broad Gauge (BG) railway tracks of Mega Block for Badarpur  to Agartala will start from March 2016 and the commissioning of laying and constructing of BG railway tracks of Mega Block for Agartala to Sabroom will start from March 2018, source added. 

Conversion work of 108 kilometer railway tracks of Mega Block has been already completed out of 228 kilometers. The BG conversion of the Mega Block is on right track for its timely completion, the source mentioned. The source further added that NFR has deployed more than 3000 workers to complete the conversion work.

The distinct advantage of having a broad gauge rail destination at Agartala would be that it will not only serve as a railway junction for further expansion of network in the region but would, in the later stages, also help in supplementing the rail connection with neighboring countries, particularly Bangladesh. In addition to improving the transport infrastructure in the region, this would also be an adjuvant to India’s “Act East” policy.The Indian railways is also in the process of laying a 15 km long rail track to connect Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh. This is with the objective to provide an alternative rail route for Northeast India to Kolkata via Bangladesh.

A passenger train that chugged into the pristine Barail Hills after setting out from here in southern Assam on November 21 on the newly-converted broad gauge line has fuelled a lot of hope in this economically backward and remote region. Since the railways began its broad gauge service to the Barak Valley, there has been plenty of rejoicing in this area that borders not only Bangladesh but also Mizoram, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Residents, however, say the new link, built after a delay of 19 years, suffers from problems. The Barak Valley, whose population doubles that of Goa, is located in one of the extreme northeastern parts of India. Silchar, the main town, is its nerve centre.

Since the British Raj, it only had a metre gauge line even as other parts of Assam switched over to the more convenient broad gauge.

Biswatosh Choudhury, a professor at Assam University here, told : "2015 is a historic year for the Barak Valley. The broad gauge will help boost our economy and overall development."

But he has a complaint. "The British took just eight years to lay the metre gauge. But due to politics and vested interests, it took us 19 years to upgrade the 210-km track."

Ajoy Roy of the Silchar-Lumding Broad Gauge Rupayan Sangram Committee said the new line was a "victory" for the people.

"Due to the government's lacklustre attitude and the failure of elected representatives, it took us 19 years to realise our dream," Roy told IANS.

He said the new connectivity would facilitate easy travel and "broaden our mindset".

"At the same time, we have doubts about the quality of the work. We have urged the Prime Minister's Office to launch an inquiry into our concerns."

Sayan Biswas, a Silchar-based journalist, agreed. "We know there are problems," he said. "We have to wait till the rainy season. Landslides are frequent on the hills. These can halt trains for weeks, even for a month.

"Now political parties are taking credit for the broad gauge. It's laughable. It is not political parties but the people of the Barak Valley who kept the issue alive."

The Bengali-majority valley -- home to over 3.6 million people -- is one of the most underdeveloped parts of Assam.

The move to convert the British-era metre gauge track into broad gauge between Lumding (also in Assam) and Silchar began in 1996, with then prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda laying the foundation in Silchar.

The railways say the project was completed despite the difficult hilly terrain, geologically unstable hills and law and order challenges.

While flagging off a goods train on the new line on March 27, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu described the rail route as the "lifeline of the Barak Valley and (for) Tripura, Manipur and Mizoram".

Since March, freight trains are running on the route.

Dhruba Kumar Saha, joint secretary of the valley-based NGO Citizens' Forum, told that it needs to be seen whether high-speed trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi can run on the new track.

The new rail link has also been hailed by people from the region working in other parts of India.

Alok Sukla, a Delhi-based finance professional from Silchar, told : "It is a dream come true. The new track will help professionals like me to visit the valley easily. I hope 'achhe din' have come for us."

The Silchar-Lumding rail line has 21 tunnels and 79 major bridges. While the longest tunnel is about 3.2 km long, the majestic Dayang Bridge is 54 metres high. Jatinga, a place notorious for "bird suicides", is linked by the passenger train services.

The erstwhile metre gauge line, born in 1899, is historic. Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore visited the region using the old rail network.

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