World’s tallest pier railway bridge achieved 93% physical progress, says officials

Imphal, April 2 (EMN): The world’s tallest pier railway bridge, which is being constructed as part of the Jiribam-Imphal railway project, has already achieved physical progress of 93.30%, officials said on Sunday.

The 141 metre-high bridge, which is being constructed at Khumji village in Manipur’s Noney district, 70 km west of Imphal, will surpass the 139-metre Mala-Rijeka viaduct in Montenegro.

The bridge is projected to be 555 metre long and is among 11 major bridges and 137 minor bridges, out of which work for five major bridges and 101 minor bridges have been completed so far.

In a press release on Sunday, NF Railways said construction of the Jiribam – Imphal railway project involves multiple tunnels and bridges in tough terrains that are stretched at more than 111 km length.

Stating that the works for this new line railway project, among other connectivity projects, is also going on in full swing to connect Imphal, with the rest of the country, it said the total length of tunnels in this project is 61.32 km out of which 59.11 km tunneling works have already been.

On the other hand, the Jiribam to Khongsang sector of the railway line, covering around 55 km, was already commissioned for train service in October last year.

The NF Railways extended its first direct passenger train service connecting Tripura’s state capital to Khongsang on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

After completion of the entire project, the present time of about 10 hours to reach Imphal from Jiribam, a town along Manipur-Assam border via road, will be reduced to 2.5 hours by railways, the release said.

“NF Railway is putting their full effort by working 24X7 for the completion of this project with all the challenges like heavy rainfall and other logistic hindrances,” it added.

“The new rail project will provide enhanced connectivity to the people of Manipur, help grow small scale industries in the area and boost tourism of the state.”

It will also help in receiving essential commodities faster by the state and help the state local producers to export their produce outside the state faster, it stated.

With the completion of the 111-km-long Jiribam-Imphal railway project by December this year, Manipur’s capital would come onto the Indian Railways network, making Imphal the fourth capital city in the northeastern region to have a rail link.