Announces commencement of surveys for construction of 7 new lines
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Railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, flagging of the new Shatabdi Express train between Naharlagun and Guwahati at Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh on Sunday, May 7.[/caption]
Dimapur, May 7 (EMN): The Union railway minister, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu today laid the foundation stone for construction of a 26 km long new broad gauge railway line from Mukongselek in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh and announced commencement of surveys for seven new broad gauge railway lines in Arunachal Pradesh. He also flagged off a new Shatabdi Express (No. 12088/12087) between Naharlagun and Guwahati.
Although the minister was originally scheduled to visit Naharlagun and address a public meeting there, he had to cancel his visit due to unforeseen circumstances and addressed the gathering at Naharlagun through video link from NF Railway headquarters at Maligaon this morning.
Chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu; Railway Minister of State Rajen Gohain; and Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju were among the dignitaries present at Naharlagun railway station.
Flagging off the new train, the railway minister said that Indian Railways has accelerated its developmental work and in the last three years alone with an investment close to Rs 3.5 lakh crore for various projects in the country for capacity enhancement. He also said that currently projects worth about Rs 90,000 crore are being executed in the northeast region.
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A view of the newly inaugurated Shatabti Express train [/caption]
Prabhu said Indian Railway is committed for not only providing better connectivity but also better passenger experience. He said Indian Railway will launch a new application for mobile platform to address passenger grievances very soon.
These surveys are in addition to the surveys already announced for strategic lines connecting Tawang, Along and Parsuramkund, and are targeted for completion by December 2018.
