PM to inaugurate Bairabi-Sairang railway line, flag off first Rajdhani from Mizoram’s Aizawl on Saturday

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Mizoram on Saturday to inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang broad gauge railway line and flag off the first Rajdhani Express between Aizawl and Delhi and other new trains, an official said.

This will be Modi’s second visit to the northeastern state since he became the Prime Minister in 2014, he said.

Modi visited Mizoram in December 2017 during which he commissioned the 60-megawatt Tuirial hydroelectric project near Saipum village in north Mizoram’s Kolasib district near the Assam border.

The Prime Minister is expected to arrive at the Lengpui airport at 9 am on Saturday, and then he will take a helicopter to fly to Aizawl’s Thuampui helipad, the official said.

Modi will address a public meeting at Aizawl’s Lammual at 10 am, during which he will inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang railway line and flag off Rajdhani train service between Aizawl and Delhi and two other new trains between Aizawl-Kolkata and Aizawl-Guwahati, he said.

The PM will also open two education institutions and lay foundation stones for six projects of the Centre during his visit, he said.

From Mizoram, the PM will fly to Manipur, his first visit since ethnic violence broke out in May 2023, after inaugurating the Bairabi-Sairang railway line in Aizawl on the same day, the official said.

Security has been beefed up across Mizoram ahead of the PM’s visit.

Mizoram Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) H Ramthlengliana said that all police units across the state have been placed on high alert, and elaborate security arrangements were made in the state capital Aizawl.

Apart from state police, two companies each of Border Security Force (BSF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were deployed to maintain law and order during the PM’s visit to Aizawl, he said.

The government also placed elaborate traffic management in Aizawl, enforcing ‘no parking’ and ‘no plying’ in certain zones and stretches where the PM’s entourage will move.

The Aizawl Municipal Corporation (AMC) has also asked residents to close all roadside shops, private offices, and street vending along the road the PM’s convoy will pass.

The state government has instructed students and all government employees posted in Aizawl to attend the public meeting at Lammual.

The government has also appealed to the general public to attend the public meeting in large numbers.

The 51.38-km-long Bairabi-Sairang broad gauge railway line project is part of the Centre’s Act East policy, which aims at boosting connectivity and economic integration across the Northeast region.

The new railway line will link Aizawl with Assam’s Silchar town and then the rest of the country and will bring Mizoram within the fold of India’s railway network for the first time.

The project sanctioned in 2008-2009 was executed by the NF Railway at the cost of Rs. 8,213.72 crore.

Modi laid the foundation stone for the project in 2014, and its construction was completed within 10 years, starting from 2015.

Previously, Bairabi in Kolasib district on the Mizoram-Assam border was the only railhead in Mizoram.

The Bairabi – Sairang line railway project is an engineering marvel of the Indian Railways.

The railway line passes through 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges, and 87 minor bridges. The total length of tunnels is over 12.8 km, which is 25 per cent of the railway track, according to NF Railway officials.

Bridge no-144 near Sairang railway station, which rises to 114 metres, is the tallest pier railway bridge in the country and is 42 metres taller than the Qutub Minar, they said.

Once operational, the new line will cut travel time between Aizawl and Guwahati from 16 hours by road to just 12 hours by train and between Aizawl and Silchar from nearly 7 hours by road to just 3 hours, they said.

Apart from improving connectivity, the new railway line will also enhance passenger and freight movement, boost socio-economic and tourism growth, generate new employment, and fulfil a long-standing aspiration of the people of Mizoram, according to NF Railway officials.

The Bairabi-Sairang railway line was commissioned by the NF Railway in early June after it passed a safety inspection.