Indian Railways is considered to be the fourth largest railway network in the world. It has its network across hills, plains, mountains, underwater, etc. The national transporter is also working on a full swing to connect with the remotest part of the country. In this respect, Assam‘s Bogibeel bridge deserves special mention.
The Bogibeel bridge is India’s longest rail-cum road bridge. The 4,940-metres long bridge situated on the Brahmaputra river is the country’s first fully welded steel bridge with no joints. The bridge has been built at an estimated cost of Rs 5,900 crore. The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has supplied around 35,400 metric tonnes of steel for the construction of Asia’s second longest road-cum-rail Bridge.
The Bogibeel bridge has a serviceable period of around 120 years. The bridge reduces the travel time to four hours between two states – Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The bridge also reduces the travel time between Delhi to Dibrugarh by around three hours to 34 hours. Previously, it used to take 37 hours to cover the distance between the two cities.
The Bogibeel bridge connects two districts of Assam – Dibrugarh and Dhemaji. The bridge has an immense impact on the economic and strategic importance of the country. This bridge was dedicated to the nation on December 25, 2018, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The first passenger train also passed through the bridge on the same day.
The North East Frontier Railway (NF Railway) zone has taken up various projects to develop the site near the Bogibeel bridge. The move is a major step towards integrated connectivity between railways and waterways under mission ‘Gati Shakti’.
The project being implemented downstream of the Bogibeel Bridge site on the South bank will lead to development of a multi-modal transport hub for the entire North-eastern region. It will also boost the prospects of tourism in the upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh areas. The project will facilitate waterways transportation of goods further through the rail network to different destinations across the country.