RAIL TRACK ELECTRIFICATION IN CONNECTIVITY OF NORTH-EAST INDIA WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ASSAM

Indian Railways has taken various steps to prioritize investment in important areas. Indian Railways seeing stiff competition from other modes of transportation, the Government of India is initiating various transformative measures to keep railways on track. These measures are focusing on prioritizing investment in important areas like Dedicated Freight Corridors, high speed rail, high capacity rolling stock, last mile rail linkage, port connectivity and attracting private and foreign investment. It is holds that the tremendous prospects in the short, medium and long term as it undergoes rapid modernization. In the upgrading railway infrastructure has become a core focus for the Government. Electrification of railway route from Katihar to Raninagar Jalpaiguri and from Maldah Town to Kumedpur sections had been in an advanced stage. The project for electrification from Raninagar Jalpaiguri to New Bongaigaon and then from New Bongaigaon to Guwahati was entrusted with Rail Vikash Nigam Limited , a Mini Ratna Public Sector Undertaking under Ministry of Railways, in 2014 and 2015 respectively in Assam. The Rail Vikash Nigam Limited will execute the project on turnkey basis. Under the project 382 route km and 687 track km of railway lines will be electrified. Completion of the project will ensure that Guwahati will have a seamless electrified route to cities like Kolkata and New Delhi and eliminate the need for changing locomotives from electric to diesel and vise versa. This will also ensure reduction of journey time and possibility of increasing speed of trains. Northeast Frontier Railway after taking a quantum leap by eliminating all unmanned level crossings has now embarked for complete railway track electrification till Guwahati targeted to be completed by 2020 and in the rest of the Northeast states by 2022 with the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) setting the same target