Mizoram's first rail line set for inauguration

Aizawl is all set to become the fourth northeastern state capital to be connected to the Indian Railways network, with the inauguration of the 51.38-kilometre Bairabi–Sairang railway line by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 13.

Also Read: Modi may visit Manipur in September, first time since violence erupted: Report

Sairang, Aizawl's railhead

Sairang, the railhead for Aizawl, is located about 20 kilometres from the city centre and roughly 12 kilometres from Lengpui Airport, offering strategic connectivity for both passengers and freight.

With this new rail link, travel time between Silchar (in Assam) and Aizawl, which currently takes around eight hours by road, will be reduced to approximately three hours by train, a significant boost for trade, tourism, and inter-state mobility.

The broad-gauge line from Bairabi (in Mizoram’s Kolasib district) to Sairang is part of Indian Railways’ long-term plan to connect all northeastern state capitals to the national railway network.

Currently, only Guwahati (Assam), Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) and Agartala (Tripura) have operational railway connectivity among the eight northeastern state capitals. Itanagar was connected on April 7, 2014, via the Naharlagun railway station.

Also Read: Centre to hold high-stakes talks to defuse tension over its border policy in NE

Gateway to Myanmar

Jiribam to Imphal in Manipur, Dimapur to Zubza near Kohima in Nagaland, Sivok to Rangpo near Gangtok in Sikkim, and Byrnihat to Shillong in Meghalaya are the other capital-connectivity projects that are at various stages of execution.

The Shillong project, however, has faced resistance from civil society groups due to concerns over demographic changes in the absence of an Inner Line Permit (ILP) regime.

The Bairabi–Sairang line is a precursor to future connectivity with Myanmar. The first phase of a survey for a 223-kilometre rail extension from Sairang to Hmawngbuchhuah, near the India–Myanmar border, was completed in August 2015.

This extension aims to connect with the Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. According to the North East Frontier Railway (NFR) PRO, Nilanjan Deb, the final location survey is currently underway.

“The preliminary survey for the route has been completed and a report has been submitted to the ministry, and now the final survey work is going on,” Deb said.

Also Read: Mizoram begins biometric enrollment for Myanmar, Bangladesh refugees

Railway network expansion

Similarly, the under-construction 111-kilometre Jiribam–Imphal line is set to be extended to Moreh, another key point on the India–Myanmar border. The section up to Imphal is expected to be completed by 2028, while surveys for the Moreh extension are ongoing.

In line with the UPA government’s “Look East Policy”, which emphasised strengthening rail linkages with Southeast Asian countries, the then Railway Board Chairman JP Batra signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement on the Trans-Asian Railway at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on June 29, 2007.

This agreement laid the foundation for India's railway network expansion push in the north-eastern region.