New train connects north and south Tripura

Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Thursday flagged off a Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU) train that would connect the state's southernmost town Sabroom and Dharmanagar, the northernmost one.

At a function held in Agartala railway station here, Deb said the train would also make it easier for people to travel to Bangladesh and other parts of the northeastern region.

Both Sabroom and Dharmanagar are close to Bangladesh border.

"A new train opened a new life line. It would connect people of one corner of the state with another and help boost the economy of the state," Deb said.

The distance between Sabroom in South Tripura district and Dharmanagar, the district headquarters of North Tripura district, is about 250 kilometres by rail, Northeastern Frontier Railway sources said.

This is the first DEMU train of Tripura. In a DEMU train, a diesel engine drives an electrical generator or an alternator which produces electrical energy, the sources said.

This enables the DEMU train to have quick acceleration and retardation making them ideal to ply as shuttles between stations located at short intervals.