GUWAHATI, Jan 1 - With Guwahati and its nearby areas facing bottleneck due to high-capacity utilisation, the Indian Railways is looking at the feasibility of having alternative routes bypassing the existing Kamakhya-New Guwahati section with a view to tide over the problem of congestion.
Highly placed sources in the Indian Railways told The Assam Tribune that two possible alternative routes have been identified in this regard.
One of the routes is from Azara to Kamalajari bypassing the southern side of the city. The second likely route is from Baihata to Panikhaiti, passing through the north bank of the Brahmaputra, sources added.
�The Railway Board understands the problem of over-utilisation of the existing track in this section. It has suggested that plans be developed to bypass the Guwahati railway station. There are already plans to develop New Guwahati as a major passenger terminal. So we are looking at various options. These two, i.e. Azara-Kamalajari and Baihata-Panikhaiti, are being examined. However, both are at infancy. It will take some time for something concrete to emerge,� said an official.
He said there are some hurdles which have to be surpassed if either of the two routes is to be developed.
�Issues like environment clearance and technical details like tunnelling have to be addressed in the Azara-Kamalajari section. While the Assam government had years ago cleared the proposal for a bridge over the Brahmaputra at Kuruwa, a rail component will have to be added to it if the Baihata-Panikhaiti section is cleared finally in future,� said the official.
In addition, factors like economic viability, location of stations, stability of the soil and exact route alignment will have to be factored in.
The capacity of the existing line in Guwahati has reached saturation point and the situation is expected to complicate further in the coming days.
�With doubling work on at both the Goalpara and the Rangiya routes, the existing capacity in Guwahati will not be enough to handle traffic smoothly. To prevent delays and detention of trains and for smooth operation, examination of new alignments and routes have to be taken up,� said a source.
Officials added that detailed projects report (DPR) for the proposed elevated corridor from Kamakhya to New Guwahati is expected to be submitted soon. A New Delhi-based consultancy had carried out the feasibility study for the elevated corridor project.
The elevated corridor project in the city had been announced a few years back by the then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu.