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Rs 5,000-cr elevated Rly project for city

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 10 - The Railway Ministry will undertake an ambitious Rs 5,000 crore project for development of train services in the city, which will involve construction of four elevated tracks from Kamakhya to New Guwahati as well as a new state-of-the-art passenger terminal at New Guwahati.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function organised by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) here today, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said the State government and the Railway Ministry will undertake the project as a joint venture and a special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be formed soon for the purpose.

The elevated tracks will not only eliminate 12 existing railway level-crossings in the city but is also expected to increase mobility and connectivity in the city, reduce traffic issues and ensure faster connectivity.

�The DPR for the project is to be readied within the next 15 days. We will expedite clearance from the Railway Ministry side and once formal approval from the State government and local bodies is secured, we hope to start work in a few months,� Prabhu said.

He said similar JVs have been formed with the State governments with regard to projects in places like Bhubaneswar and Gandhinagar.

He added that the new passenger terminal at New Guwahati will include commercial establishments like shopping malls and will be of a standard even better than that of airport terminals.

Once the new terminal is completed, all trains bound for the eastern destinations, like Barak Valley and Upper Assam, will depart and terminate at New Guwahati.

Meanwhile, the Kamakhya Railway Station will also be developed and all trains bound for the states in the West, South and North India will start and terminate there.

The Guwahati Railway Station will remain a pass-through station, which will bring down the pressure on the place.

The service in the 12-km Kamakhya-New Guwahati elevated section will help ferry passengers between the two places. Trains in the section will depart every 10-15 minutes.

�This is being done taking into account the traffic growth of the city till 2040,� he said.

Work will also be taken up to connect the Kamakhya Railway Station to the AT Road by constructing a flyover and the station will also be connected with the National Highway 37 in a better way.

The number of platforms in the Kamakhya station will be increased and the area around the station will be developed.

The Kamakhya-Guwahati-New Guwahati section will be also be integrated with the metro rail project to form a multi-mode system.

He said that railway land is to be developed for commercial purposes and railway infrastructure in the city will be developed with the overall development of Guwahati to be undertaken as part of the Smart City project. �

Earlier, speaking during a public function at the RPF Ground at Maligaon, Prabhu said that improving connectivity in the Northeast, including railway connectivity, is a major focus of the Central government.

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