N-E state capitals to be connected via rail network by 2023: Railway Board

Attempts to connect every part of Jammu and Kashmir to the railway are also underway at full speed

Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav on Friday said that all the capitals of North-Eastern states will be connected to the rail network by 2023.

"We are implementing a project to connect all the capitals of North-Eastern states. As of today, except for Sikkim, all North-Eastern states are connected to the rail network. The capitals of Assam, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh are already connected. In Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Meghalaya, the capital connectivity work is in progress. Manipur will be connected in March 2022, Mizoram in March 2023, Nagaland in March 2023, Meghalaya in March 2022 and Sikkim in December 2022," Yadav said while interacting with media virtually.

"We are progressing at full speed and by 2023 all these capitals in the North-Eastern states will be connected. These are very important railway projects which we have focused on in the last five years," he added.

Yadav further informed that the attempts to connect every part of Jammu and Kashmir to the railway are underway at full speed, and the Katra-Banihal rail link project is likely to be completed by December 2022.

"This is a very difficult project and there are a lot of hardships in the last phase because it requires the construction of a large number of tunnels and bridges. Work on the last stretch of 111 kilometers from Katra to Banihal is in progress and the project is targeted to be completed by December 2022," he said.