Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday announced that the BJP-led Central Government has allocated Rs 10,440 crore for improving railway connectivity in the northeastern states for 2025-26. This is five times more than the budgetary allocations made during the UPA regime from 2009-14.

As part of the station redevelopment programme, Dimapur in Nagaland has been sanctioned Rs 283 crore, Imphal Rs 202.5 crore, Rangpo in Sikkim Rs 187 crore, Mendipathar in Meghalaya Rs 39.5 crore, and Sairang in Mizoram Rs 76 crore, Vaishnaw said.

“The Central Government has constructed 1,824 km of new railway tracks in Assam and the Northeast since 2014, which is more than the entire rail network of Sri Lanka,” Vaishnaw stated.

Addressing a post-budget briefing at Rail Bhawan, he highlighted that 166 new railway tracks were installed from 2014-25, compared to just 67 during the UPA regime. Additionally, 146 km of railway tracks in the Northeast have been electrified in the last 10 years. “As many as 18 projects covering 1,368 km of new tracks, worth Rs 74,972 crore, are currently ongoing,” he added.

Vaishnaw also announced that 60 stations in the Northeast will be developed as ‘Amrit Stations’ at a cost of Rs 2,039 crore.

Emphasizing railway safety, he said that 237 tenders and projects are underway to install the Kavach system on 1,189 km of railway routes. “Since 2014, 478 rail flyovers and underpasses have been constructed,” he noted. Additionally, 44 lifts and 37 escalators have been sanctioned for railway stations in the Northeast.

Under the station redevelopment programme, a total of Rs 788 crore has been allocated for railway infrastructure in the northeastern states.

MT

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