Aizawl will be on railway map in next two years as the construction of a 51.38 km long stretch of broad gauge railway line between Sairang and Bhairabi on Mizoram-Assam border is expected to be completed by December 2023.
Sharing the news, an official of Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) on Friday said the construction work is in progress at different stages and almost all tenders for various works have been finalised.
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Sairang is located about 20 km from Aizawl and about 12 km from the lone Lengpui airport.
The official said 89.55% of earthwork, 37% of major bridges and about 73.26% of minor bridges have been completed.
He said 21% of the construction of cut and cover tunnels has also been completed.
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There are 32 tunnels (12.67 km total length), 16 cut and cover tunnels (2.58 km total length) along the 51.38 km long stretch of broad gauge railway, which traverses through the Thingdawl and Tlangnuam Blocks of Kolasib district and Aizawl districts.
There are 55 major bridges of which 6 are tall bridges having a height of more than 70 m (the tallest being 101.4 m), 87 minor bridges, 5 road over bridges and 8 road under bridges.
Apart from Bairabi, the railway line will passes through four stations- Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang.
Mizoram chief secretary Lalnunmawia Chuaungo on Friday visited various construction sites of the BG line and interacted with railway officials.
He shared positive feedbacks with the NFR officials and urged them to expedite the construction.
Chuaungo assured the commitment from the state government to tackle any issue that might hampers the construction works.
He exuded hope that the project when completed will unlock untapped economic potential of the state.
Foundation stone of the Sairang-Bairabi broad gauge line was laid by Prime Minister Modi in November 2014.
The project was started in 2015 and was initially scheduled to be completed by 2018.
The project could not be expedited due to several hurdles, including hilly terrain, deep valleys and gorges, frequent landslides, short duration of working season due to monsoon and lack of labour and construction materials in the state.
The project when completed will open good economic opportunity as commodities will be able to be transported in much cheaper, cost-effective, and eco-friendly way and state farmers will be able to send their produce to the wider market of the various states at a cheaper rate and in time-bound manner.