Northeast Desk, 15th May: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) aims to complete the electrification of the railway track from Lumding to Sabroom in Tripura before August, an official announced on Wednesday.
Of the 265 km of track from Dharmanagar to Sabroom via Agartala, 165 km have been electrified, with the remaining 100 km scheduled for completion by August. Chief Public Relations Officer of NFR, Sabyasachi De, shared that the electrification of the Lumding to Badarpur section, spanning 172 km, is also progressing well, with 85% of the work completed despite the challenging hill terrain.
“Overall, 65% of the tracks under NFR have been electrified to enhance the railway network in the northeast. In Assam, 55% of the railway tracks are now electrified,” De told PTI over the phone.
The completion of the electrification project is expected to facilitate the introduction of premier trains like Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat up to Agartala. De emphasized that the NFR is expediting the electrification efforts to achieve this goal.
NFR plans to gradually phase out diesel-run trains, with the shift to electric trains promising significant benefits. “Running electric trains will be more cost-effective compared to diesel engines and will help reduce carbon emissions,” De explained.
To further enhance the railway infrastructure, the Centre has allocated Rs 260 crore to upgrade Agartala station to world-class standards. Additionally, Rs 93 crore has been sanctioned to transform three stations—Dharmanagar, Udaipur, and Kumarghat—into Amrit Bharat stations.