GK IN NE: Centre links Mizoram to National Railway network with Rs 8071 Cr Bairabi-Sairang project

Aizawl (Mizoram), Aug 20: In a significant development, Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram has been connected with the Indian Railways network for the first time with the completion of Rs 8071 crore Bairabi–Sairang new Railway Line Project under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).

The 51.38 kilometers long railway project comprising five railway stations is scheduled to be thrown open for the people of Mizoram in September and the project will extend railway services from Bairabi up to Sairang, improving accessibility to the State besides unlocking new avenues for trade, travel, and tourism.

In an exclusive conversation with Greater Kashmir at Sairang Railway station in Aizawl, Chief Engineer Bairabi–Sairang New Railway Line Project Vinod Kumar said the railway line is a capital connectivity project which will connect the remote State with the National railway network.

“This will be the fourth Capital in the North-East, which will be connected to the rail network,” he told Greater Kashmir.

Briefing about the project, Vinod Kumar who has earlier served as Deputy Chief Engineer of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) said the total length of Bairabi-Sairang railway project was 51.38 km.

He said the project was sanctioned in 2008-09 and considering its importance, this project was declared as a national project. After 2008-09, the construction survey was taken up followed by the acquisition of land for the project. The foundation station of the project was laid on November 29, 2014 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The work on this project started in 2014 and after a passage of around 11 years, the project has been completed," he said. Chief Engineer Vinod Kumar said the entire alignment of the project passes through the young Himalayan-hilly area. He said the project comprises 48 tunnels and after merging three tunnels, the total number of tunnels in this project is 45 measuring 15.8 kilometres.

He said that 31 percent alignment of the project passes through tunnels. "The project has 153 bridges including 88 minor bridges and 55 major bridges besides 10 ROVs and RUVs for road passages," he said. He said the total length of the bridges is 11.8 kilometers which comprises 23 percent of the alignment of the project.

“The maximum alignment of the tunnels and bridges comprises 54 percent of the project while the remaining 46 percent comprises deep cutting and filling of earth. Vinod Kumar said there were many challenges during the execution of the project."This area witnesses long monsoons from March till October. The working season window is from November to March. So if it rains once a month, it affects our work for a week,” he said.

He said there were challenges with regard to the availability of the construction material and labourers. "We have to get cement, sand and other material from our adjoining states like Assam, West Bengal or Jharkhand through train or by road," he said. He said they had to arrange the labourers from outside states and there was a problem of their retention. "Being a remote and hilly state, labourers do not want to stay here," he said.

He said that at times it takes over a month to transport construction material by road from other states due to frequent traffic interruption. "Our project alignment is 20 to 25 km away from the highway. It is shifted from a big trailer to a small truck which makes it difficult for the company," he said. He said that despite facing challenges, they completed the project in a span of 11 years. "Since I was working as Deputy Chief Engineer in USBRL, the experience gained in execution of that project helped me here," Vinod Kumar said.

He said the terrain for the Bairabi-Sairang railway project was almost the same as that of USBRL but the conditions were completely different for the project. "In the J&K project, to make a total of 111 km from Katra to Banihal, a road of 225 km was already made. The accessibility issue was eliminated there. But here the project site was inaccessible which made it very difficult for us to execute the project," he said. He said the number of tunnels and bridges if USBRL was less as compared to the Bairabi-Sairang project. "But the length of bridges and tunnels of USBRL is more as compared to the Bairabi-Sairang project," he said.