Manipur Govt. to construct highest railway tunnel in India

The government in Manipur is set to construct the highest rail tunnel, to bridge distances between Jiribam sub-division with Tupul in Tamenglong district near capital Imphal.

Works and Transport Minister Kh. Ratankumar Singh said the railway bridge is being constructed at Khumji village of Noney in Tamenglong district and would be the highest railway bridge once it is completed.

"So far we have visited several tunnel construction sites and this is the fourth one. The railway officials state that the tunnel is one of the most critical ones in the whole project. The length of the tunnel is 39 kilometres. Out of the 39 kms, 14 kms of tunneling has been totally completed," said Singh.

Singh mentioned it during an inspection tour of the tunnels being constructed as part of the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway project.

After making spot assessment of the undergoing work of the tunnel, Singh stated that the 141 metres high and 703 metres long bridge is one of the four major bridges of the railways and it would be the world's highest railway bridge.

The construction work of the bridge started in January and it is being targeted for completion within 18 months. The construction can be completed within the stipulated period provided there is no blockade.

Singh further observed that construction work of the four tunnels has made significant progress. So far the railway project has been completed by 50 per cent and it is expected to be fully complete by 2016.

The total length of the tunnels of Jiribam-Imphal railway line is the second longest in India. The minister said the state government has been working to improve the road from Noney to Maram.

The inspection team also included the Transport Director Luikham, Principal Secretary (Works) Ram Muivah, Transport Secretary Lakshmi Kumar, Additional Chief Engineer Kh Temba and Deputy Chief Engineer (Railways) Jogesh Verma.