Assam MP moves Centre over poor rail connectivity in NE

Guwahati: Rajya Sabha MP from Assam Ajit Kumar Bhuyan has written a letter to Union minister of railways Ashwini Vaishnaw to take steps to improve rail connectivity in certain parts of Northeast, particularly Barak Valley in southern Assam and neighbouring Mizoram.

In the letter, Bhuyan drew the attention of the Union railways ministry to the poor railway connectivity in Barak Valley as well as Mizoram and the immense hardships faced by people travelling to Arunachal Pradesh over the years.

He further urged the Union minister to extend the service of Rajdhani Express to Silchar in the wake of hardships faced by the people of southern Assam from time to time owing to poor rail connectivity.

In regard to the long-pending demand of people in Barak Valley for extending the Rajdhani Express up to Silchar, the MP wrote, “Such a service will benefit the people of the western part of Manipur, Mizoram, and Barak Valley in southern Assam and significantly contribute to the overall development of the region.”

“It is understood that Rajdhani Express trains generally run between the national capital and state capitals, but in the case of Assam, reportedly there are two Rajdhani Express trains going to Dibrugarh. I would suggest that one of them may be diverted to Silchar or in the alternative, a new Rajdhani Express train meant for Imphal (Manipur) may be commenced in advance to ameliorate the sufferings of the commuters.” Bhuyan stated.

The MP further pointed out that a few years back, Najma Heptulla in the capacity as the Governor of Manipur had written a letter to the then Union minister of railways, Piyush Goel in this regard.

“Presently, one daily train, namely the Donyi Polo Express, runs between Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh and Shokhuvi in Nagaland via Lumding in Assam. However, passengers from southern Assam and Mizoram have to board the train in Lumding, (which is more than 200 km away from Silchar),” Bhuyan wrote in the letter to the Union railways minister.

“In view of this, I would request you to kindly consider diverting the Donyi Polo Express to Silchar via Lumding for four days a week while during the remaining three days of the week, it may run to Shokhuvi in Nagaland,” he stated.

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