GUWAHATI, Feb 24 � Work on the long-awaited railway line linking Meghalaya to the rest of the country is in final stages and the Dudhnoi-Mendipathar line will be ready by next month.
Senior officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway (Construction) told The Assam Tribune that only around 1.5 km of track link remain to be done in the 19.7-km line, while work on earthwork, bridges and railway under bridges (RUB) has been finished.
�The track linking is in progress. Blasting work in one small hill area is being done now and once it is over we will be able to finish the remaining around 1.5 km of track linking,� an official said.
He added that the NFR (Construction) is confident of completing the work within March.
�There were some natural obstacles in the hilly terrain but we have overcome most of them. Once the work is finished there will be an inspection by the Commission of Railway Safety (CRS) before we hand over the track and other facilities to NFR (Open Line), who will operate the commercial and passenger services,� the official added.
The project to link the Garo Hills in Meghalaya with Assam and the rest of the country by a broad-gauge track was first sanctioned in the Union Budget in 1992-93 and the final location survey was completed in 2007. The anticipated cost of the project was put at Rs 247.75 crore.
The line has 53 minor bridges, three major bridges, seven RUBs and two station buildings.
