NFR thrust on implementing PM Gati Shakti expeditiously

Guwahati: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is putting thrust on faster implementation of PM Gati Shakti scheme in the North Eastern region as the traffic being handled by the railways currently in these areas is expected to increase manifold, a top NFR official said.

He also underlined the importance on connectivity projects in North East as the region serves as the gateway to Southeast Asia, an official release said.

Speaking at a meeting here on Friday with Members of Parliament (MPs) whose constituencies are served by Rangiya and Lumding divisions, NFR General Manager Anshul Gupta said much emphasis is being laid on faster adoption of PM Gati Shakti in North Eastern states for handling of both outward and inward traffic so that rail, road and port gets integrated.

PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan was launched in October 2021 for providing multimodal connectivity infrastructure to various economic zones.

Gupta said NFR expects to handle 65 million tonne of traffic by the end of 2025 from 30 million tonne it is handling currently.

“NFR has put efforts on various other developmental works to further increase capacity for movement of both passengers as well as goods traffic,” he added.

The top official said as this zone serves as the gateway to the Southeast Asia, many projects have also been undertaken to get it connected to Southeast Asia.

“This zone has a complex rail network stretching through hilly terrain with a large number of tunnels, highest number of bridges and the longest elephant corridor across the entire railway system,” he said.

Gupta said NFR currently has 6,829 Km of railway network and 1,242 Km will be added to this network, of which work is in progress.

Projects for improving rail connectivity to the state capitals in the North Eastern region are on in full swing, he added.

The MPs suggested extension and improvement of railway connectivity, upgradation of stations and preservation of old heritage stations, etc.

The NFR officials assured of looking into the suggestions and implementing these.

Ten MPs and three representatives of MPs were present at the meeting, along with other senior railway officials, the release added.