Agartala, Oct 11, 2022, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala, Oct 11: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has taken several initiatives including improvement of tracks and infrastructures to strengthen its network in Tripura, an official said on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference at the Agartala Railway Station, Divisional Railway Manager J.S. Lakra said, as part of the measures, the NFR has decided to extend the services of train number 02518/02517 to Agartala. This train was so far running between Kolkata and Guwahati. Now the passengers can board this train at Guwahati in the evening and will reach Agartala the next morning.

Besides, the recently introduced Jan Shatabdi Express service between Agartala to Jiribam will be extended up to Khongsang in Manipur. With this, the train will cover additional 55-km distance and it will be able to cover a distance of 300 km in six hours, he said.

President of India Droupadi Murmu will flag-off the two new service at Agartala railway station on Thursday. Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha and other dignitaries are scheduled to attend the flagging-off ceremony.

According to the NFR official, the train would also have new LHB rake with latest amenities and a Vistadome coach to promote tourism in this section.
 
The DRM of NF Railways further informed that survey for a second line between Lumding– Badarpur via Lanka- Chandranathpur has been sanctioned by Railway Board and will be completed by March 2023.

The work of electrification of the Lumding-Agartala line is expected to be completed by December, 2023. Survey for new line between Dharmanagar- Pecharthal up to Belonia via Kamalpur-Khowai and Agartala measuring 178.72 km has been completed, he added.

The Railways has also started survey for upgrading the Agartala rail station with modern state of the art facilities. Two escalators are being constructed here and these are expected to be completed next month. Two more escalators are coming up at Dharamanagar rail station. 

Expanding commercial opportunities the NF Railway has opened two modular stalls at Agartala rail station and very soon such modular stalls will be opened at Udaipur, Belonia, Sabroom, Ambassa, Kumarghat and Dharmanagar station. This is being done under the ‘One Station One Product’ scheme to showcase the indigenous products of Tripura.

Local artisans have been requested to make maximum use of this opportunity. At the same time NF Railway has introduced e-auction scheme to delegate parking, pay and use toilet, advertisement space at the rail stations in Tripura for commercial use.

In an effort to improve freight transport and logistics, works for additional goods terminals at Sekerkote and Agartala have been shortlisted and one additional goods line at Agartala is being processed.

The NF Railways has also been co-ordinating with local traders for boosting trade by providing parcel train facilities for the transport of rubber, timber, pineapple, jackfruit and other indigenous products of the region. On the international connectivity sector the Agartala-Akhaura rail line is expected to be completed in the next four-five months.