Train to Manipur is going to be realised within a year. Indian Railways recently shared the progress report Jiribam-Imphal rail project. Almost 89.2% work of train to Manipur project is now complete. Indian railways has finished the work on 48 out of 52 tunnels and construction of 6 out of 11 stations is also complete. Of the 11 major bridges, substructure of 7 and superstructure of 5 has been completed while 101 of 129 minor bridges are also ready.
The Jiribam-Imphal rail project is an engineering marvel in itself and has been envisaged to connect the remote North Eastern state with rest of India by rail. The 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal rail project will reduce the travel time between Assam and Manipur’s capital from 10-12 hours to just 2-3 hours. At present, crossing the valley requires a 220-km journey.
The work on worlds’ tallest railway pier bridge in Manipur is also going on in full swing. Indian Railways has completed over 75% work on Noney Bridge. An Engineering marvel, Noney Bridge is being constructed over the Ijai river near Noney. The Bridge’s height will be a towering 141-metres making it the tallest pier rail bridge in the world. The current record holder is 139-metre tall Mala-Rijeka viaduct in Montenegro in Europe.
During the UPA regime, the Government of India included 111 km Jiribam-Imphal rail project in Budget 2003-04. The latest anticipated cost of the project is over Rs. 12,200 crore. 12 km length from Jiribam to Vangaichungpao has been completed and commissioned in March, 2017.
Completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick land acquisition by State Government, forest clearance by officials of forest department, shifting of infringing utilities, statutory clearances from various authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project site, number of working months in a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions etc., and all these factors differ from project to project and affect the completion time of the project.
Eight new station buildings, 11 major bridges, 134 minor bridges, four road over bridges, 12 road under bridges and a record length of over 71,066 meter of tunneling are being constructed so far.
The 11.55 km long tunnel number 12 is the longest railway tunnel in India on the Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal railway line. The world’s tallest bridge pier will also be seen in Manipur. The bridge, which is being built at a pier height of 141 meters, will surpass the existing record of 139 meter of Mala – Rijeka viaduct, Montenegro in Europe.
The 111 km long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal new broad gauge railway project was taken up in 2008 and was declared a ‘National Project’ owing to its importance. Express trains to reach Imphal is a sign of development of the present BJP government in the State as well as the Centre.
Fastest trains of Indian Railways-the Rajdhani and Satabdi Express will reach Manipur soon. When the train reached Imphal capital, it will further touched the foothills of the State.A survey has been initiated for the purpose of connecting Imphal with the foothills too.