Highlights
- A railway line will be built from Imphal to Moreh.
- The final location survey will be done at an estimated cost of Rs 333 lakh.
- The Imphal-Moreh new line will be of strategic importance.
The Ministry of Railways has given approval for the final location survey of the Imphal-Moreh section of about 111 km for the construction of a new Broad Gauge (BG) line connecting India and Myanmar. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is on a visit to the North East, approved the survey for laying a new railway line on the initiative of the Chief Minister of Manipur. Within 2 hours of giving his approval, the Railway Ministry also issued the order.
It happened that during the Railway Minister’s visit to Imphal, the Manipur CM requested him to extend the railway line from Imphal to Moreh to connect the Indo-Myanmar border. The Railway Minister ordered on-the-spot Railway Ministry officials to give approval for the survey for laying the railway line up to Myanmar. By the end of the meeting, the Railway Ministry approved the survey for laying the railway line and also issued the order.
Rail line work to be completed soon till Imphal
The rail section from Imphal to Moreh will be built under the Indo-Myanmar Rail Link Project. At present, the work of the railway line is going on in the Indian area only till Imphal. Which will be completed soon. Once built, this Imphal-Moreh new line will be of strategic importance and will form an important part of the proposed Trans-Asian Railway, which will connect India to Southeast Asia via a rail network. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, on his visit to Imphal on Wednesday, conducted an aerial inspection of railway projects and ordered a survey for a new line up to Moreh on the Indo-Myanmar border.
Estimated cost of survey Rs 333 lakh
The ministry said that the final location survey will be conducted at an estimated cost of Rs 333 lakh. Vaishnav took stock of Jiribam-Imphal new line project in Manipur during his aerial survey. The project also includes the country’s longest rail tunnel connecting Imphal with Guwahati. The goods trains are expected to start services up to Kaimai Road railway station by the end of this month.
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