Govt approves doubling of train track connecting Guwahati with New Bongaigaon

The Centre Wednesday approved the doubling of a vital railway line connecting Guwahati with New Bongaigaon at a cost of Rs 2,042 crore.

The decision has been taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The CCEA gave its approval to construct the New Bongaigaon and Agthori via Rangiya railway line, doubling (142.97 km) of Northeast Frontier Railway in Assam with an estimated cost of Rs 2,042.51 crore, an official statement said.

The project will be completed by 2022-23 and will be executed by the construction organisation of the Northeast Frontier Railway.

The line capacity utilisation of the section between New Bongaigaon and Agthori via Rangiya is more than 100 per cent.

Traffic on this section will further increase as Rangiya-Murkongselek Broad Gauge line has already been commissioned in 2015-16 and the Bogibeel Bridge new line has been commissioned recently.

To remove the capacity constraints of the existing network and to handle the increasing freight and passenger traffic, doubling of New Bongaigaon-Agthori via Rangiya is required, the statement said.

Overall operative performance of the New Bongaigaon-Agthori via Rangiya railway line will improve by the doubling and the congestion of the section will also reduce to a great extent.

The project will ease the growing through traffic into the North East region and saving due to faster mobility through the proposed double line section