ITANAGAR, March 2 - Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Union Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain flagged off the Arunachal Express, a new weekly train service between Naharlagun and Anand Vihar in Delhi, at Naharlagun railway station on Thursday. Arunachal Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein and General Manager in-charge of Northeast Frontier Railway Lokesh Narayan, among others were present at the function.
The train will cover the 2,013 km distance between Naharlagun and Anand Vihar Terminal in little over 38 hours and will have 14 stoppages en-route. Addressing the gathering, MoS for Railways Rajen Gohain said that the launch is �another new beginning� for Arunachal Pradesh in connectivity sector.
�Things are getting speedily changed for last four years and in coming days, you can perceive the same when the Bogibeel bridge cum rail project gets commissioned in June next,� he said. He added, the distance from Dibrugarh to Rangiya via Harmutti would be reduced by almost 200 km and time by four hours.
He informed survey works are on for 11 rail projects totaling 1,480 km to connect foothill areas in Arunachal. He added that by 2020, almost all the Northeastern States will be brought into the country�s railway map.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said that the whole face of Arunachal Pradesh will change completely once the 11 railway projects, currently in different stages of progress, are completed.
On electrification plan of NFR which got mention in this year�s Union Budget, Rijiju informed that about 90,000 technical and non-technical posts will be created in this regard. He requested the Indian Railways to give employment opportunities to the youth of Arunachal Pradesh.
