The trains are expected to boost interstate bonding between people through better connectivity
HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, Oct 13: President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday flagged off two trains — Agartala-Khongsang Janshatabdi Express and another Agartala-Kolkata Express – at Agartala to boost connectivity in the region, in presence of Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha, chief minister of Tripura, Jishnu Dev Varma, deputy chief minister of Tripura, Pratima Bhoumik, Union minister of state for Social Justice and Empowerment, Pranajit Singha Roy, minister of Transport, Tourism, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Govt. of Tripura, Rebati Tripura, MP/Lok Sabha and Mimi Majumdar, MLA. Anshul Gupta, general manager of NF Railway along with other dignitaries was present.
NF Railway has extended the services of train no. 12097/12098 (Agartala – Jiribam – Agartala) Jan Shatabdi Express up to Khongsang in Manipur & train no. 02518/02517 (Guwahati – Kolkata – Guwahati) Express up to Agartala.
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The 12097/12098(Agartala – Jiribam – Agartala) Jan Shatabdi Express, which was the first direct train service connecting Tripura & Manipur has now been extended up to Khongsang in Manipur, which is a stretch of about 55 km. The train will run on Monday, Wednesday & Friday between Agartala and Khongsang. Khongsang station has been constructed as part of the ongoing Jiribam – Imphal new line project. This will be the first train service for this newly constructed station.
People of a vast area of Manipur will be able to travel by train for the first time for their medical, educational and other needs. Train journey travel time will be less than half, as the journey time will be around 7 hours covering a distance of 300 km against about 15 hours or so by road. The Jan Shatabdi Express will be having new Linke Hofmann Busch coaches with latest amenities for passengers.
Moreover, a vistadome coach has also been added in this train. The new line in Manipur state is an engineering marvel. Construction works involve multiple tunnels and bridges in tough terrains. The entire route passes through very scenic hilly areas. This can be visualised by the passengers/tourists through the vistadome coach. This train will connect people of three north-east states: Tripura, Manipur and Assam boosting economic activities, a senior official said.
The 02518/02517 (Guwahati – Kolkata – Guwahati) Express which used to run between Kolkata and Guwahati, has now been extended up to Agartala with a new train no. 02502/02501 (Agartala – Kolkata – Agartala) Express once a week. The train will run on Wednesday between Agartala and Kolkata. This service will connect the capital of Tripura, Agartala to Guwahati and other states. This train service will benefit people travelling between Agartala and Kolkata via Guwahati.
It may be mentioned here that, NF Railway only recently connected Nagaland with Arunachal Pradesh by a direct train service on August 26, 2022 to further boost the people-to-people connectivity and local economy in the NE region.
The commencement of these train services from Agartala is a major step towards improving connectivity and facilitating development of Tripura and its neighbouring states. It will not only enable passengers from Tripura, Manipur & Mizoram to travel for work, education and healthcare needs, but also act as a means of strengthening the people – to – people linkages and cultural bonding between the people of Agartala, Manipur and other connecting states.
The train will also act as intercity service between Agartala & Guwahati. The new line connectivity will result in increased socio-economic activity in the state of Manipur. This will lead to easy movement of material and passengers throughout India and bring more employment opportunities for the people of state, the official further added.
Murmu, who had arrived in Tripura on Wednesday, later left for Udaipur, where she offered prayers at Tripureswari temple, one of the Shakti Peethas, amid tight security.
The President departed for Guwahati at 11:45 am.
