Indian Railways (IR) is on a mission to connect the northeast with the rest of the country, and keeping this as a priority Bairabi-Sairang Rail Line Project (51.38 km) is about to get completed. 82% of the work was done by 30th November 2022, informed the Ministry of Railways, on Thursday. The project is of national significance and will provide seamless connectivity to Mizoram’s state capital, Aizawl (Sairang), with the rest of India.
The Bairabi-Sairang rail line will have 130 bridges, 23 tunnels, and four stations namely Kawnpui, Hortoki, Mualkhang, and Sairang. As per reports, the cost of construction from Bairabi to Sairang was estimated at Rs 2384 crores. However, later it was revised to Rs 5021.45 crores. The line is under Indian Railways’ Northeast Frontier zone.
In August 2019, 65 per cent work was completed, and in February 2020, Railway Board Chairman inspected the 51.38 km long rail line project.
In February 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reportedly, the project faced several delays in construction work, and due to lockdowns and lack of labour, the revised deadline for the railway line to Sairang (and the final extension till Mizoram’s capital Aizawl) is March 2023.
In a separate but related development, construction work is going at a fast pace on the Sivok–Rangpo rail line project to connect Sikkim with the rail network of the country.
From Sivok in West Bengal (WB) to Rangpo in Sikkim, the total length of this line will be 44.96 km. 41.55 km rail line will be in WB, and Sikkim’s share will be 3.41 km. In total, 14 tunnels will be made. The longest tunnel will be 5.27 km. The length of the shortest tunnel will be 538 metres.