Guwahati: Broad gauge rail connectivity between Guwahati and Silchar will be fully restored by the end of July 2022, Northeast Frontier Railway, General Manager Anshul Gupta said.
Talking to United News of India, Gupta said that the restoration work in the landslide-ravaged track is going on in full swing in the Dima Hasao district in Central Assam and most of the breaches have been repaired.
According to reports, there have been more than 60 breaches in 15 critical locations.
“We are carrying out restoration work on a war footing, and I am hopeful that work will get over by July 12 and full resumption of train services from Guwahati to Silchar could start by the end of July,” Gupta said.
It may be recalled that heavy torrential rains coupled with massive landslides had affected around 85 km of railway track in the Lumding-Badarpur hill section of Lumding division since the second week of May.
Breaches had occurred at more than 61 locations in this section, resulting in the disruption of rail communication to the hilly states of Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur, and parts of Assam.
However, Gupta added that the resumption of services will also depend on the weather if there is no rainfall during that time normal train services will resume by the end of July.
It may be mentioned here that notices have been issued by the Gauhati High Court to Indian Railway authorities for allegedly not adhering to safety guidelines while constructing a broad-gauge railway line from Lumding to Silchar in the state of Assam.
Hearing a PIL filed by the All Barak Youth Students Association, a division bench comprising Chief Justice (Acting) N Kotiswar Singh as well as Justice Soumitra Saikia recently gave four weeks to the Ministry of Railways, Railway Board, and the Northeast Frontier Railway zone– to reply to the notices.
The petition mentioned that work on the conversion of meter-gauge to the broad-gauge line to connect with Barak Valley, Tripura, Manipur, and Mizoram was sanctioned in 1996-97, and it was declared a national project in the year 2004. On 21 November 2015, passenger trains were started on the broad-gauge track.
