Imphal-Jiribam railway line: First locomotive test run held

Imphal, May 16(ANI): The maiden locomotive test run on the under construction Imphal Jiribam railway line was held recently.

The rail line is a part of the 111km long mega project that connects Jiribam to Imphal via Tupul.t will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 4442 crores and will reduce the 220 km road distance to about 100km.

"It will bring a lot of development in the area as well as also help in the rail transportation in the region," said Radheyshyam, General Manager, Chitranjan Locomotive Works.

Work on the project is in full swing and is expected to be completed by 2016. 35 tunnels will be built, of which work on 18 is expected to end soon. 80 large and small bridges will also be constructed.

The rail line will pass through Barak valley and the proposed Tipaumukh dam. It has been declared a national project by the centre.

However, the work at the construction site had slowed down due to problems like land acquisition formalities, rains and militancy.

Several militant groups threaten workers and construction companies and want to extort money from them.

"We planned to complete the constructions by 2014, but in last two years we have lost more than 13 months because of bandhs, strikes and shutdowns," Radheyshyam added.(ANI)