Agartala: The electrification work of rail tracks up to Sabroom (South Tripura) from Badarpur (South Assam) for shifting diesel and coal engines of trains to electric engines would be completed by 2024, General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) Chetan Kumar Srivastava informed Tripura Chief Minister.
A team of NFR officials led by Srivastava paid a courtesy visit to CM on Tuesday and held discussions on ongoing railway projects, the upgrading of services, the introduction of new trains, and several other developmental issues.
“Electrification of railway lines is essential because of the Prime Minister’s commitment to minimize the use of conventional energy sources for environmental protection. The fossil fuel-based transport modes have gradually become obsolete in the country, and electrification of railway tracks even up to the last mile becomes inevitable,” Dr Saha said, adding that zeroing down the emission of greenhouse gases from the transport sector is the target of his government.
He mentioned that the Tripura government has been encouraging electric and battery-operated vehicles, and a large number of cars and buses have already converted to CNG in the state. As a result, the use of petrol and diesel in the vehicles has reduced substantially, but the government wants to make the transport sector eco-friendly, Dr Saha said.
The NFR officials met Dr Saha to join the inauguration of the extension of service of the Lokmanya Tilak-Kamakhya Express train to Agartala connecting Mumbai, scheduled to commence on October 15. The train is now plying weekly between Guwahati and Mumbai.
The express will start its journey from Agartala every Thursday at 6 AM and after 55 hours of journey, the fully air-conditioned train will reach Mumbai and again every Sunday at 7.50 AM, the train will start its return journey from Mumbai to Agartala via Guwahati, NFR officials stated.
The General Manager of NFR informed that the Kanchenjunga Express connecting Agartala to Kolkata would also be extended up to Sabroom by November this year. For railway track electrification, NFR officials asked the state government to set up power sub-stations at Udaipur and Teliamura railway stations, besides speeding up the erection of transmission lines.
