Dimapur, Feb. 9 (EMN): The days of electric locomotives hauling the traffic of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is not far now that budget 2018 has sanctioned for it electrification of the entire railway division to be undertaken at an estimated cost of INR 2,353 cr.
A press release issued by NFR at Maligaon on Feb. 9 Fri. stated that the NFR tracks including all branch lines would now be covered by electric traction with the sanction for electrification of 2536 km track in place.
Four railway electrification works for a total of 1102 km of tracks at an estimated cost of INR 1432 crore are said to have been approved in the 2017 budget. Currently electrified stations are said to be at New Bongaigaon-Agthori via Rangiya, New Bongaigaon-Kamakhya via Goalpara, Guwahati to Dibrugarh via Tinsukia and Simaluguri to Dibrugarh and Raninagar Jalpaiguri to Samuktala.
The updates said that the electrification of tracks up to Katihar and between Katihar and Old Malda had been completed. The first passenger train on the Katihar-Old Malda section is stated to have started on Jan. 24 this year. It was informed that work for electrification is in progress upto Guwahati and scheduled for completion by Jan. 2020.
