Railways

The discussions on transportation system as a basic infrastructure that promotes growth of the economy will not be complete without taking into consideration on the other importance means of land transportation viz. railways. In most of the states in India, railway is an important means for movements of people as well as commodities. However, in the hill states of India the railway network is not well developed. An indicator of the development of railway transport is the railway route density, which in the northeast is very low for all states except for Assam.

Railway infrastructure in Northeast India:

Source: Background Paper Authors' calculation based on CMIE March 2004 (MHDR2008).

In the state of Meghalaya railway transportation is yet to be established, while in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Mizoram the railway route length is under 2 Kilometers. Almost 98 per cent of the railway route length in the North east is in Assam. At present, there is no railway line in Meghalaya. However, the Government of India is considering connecting all N.E. State capitals by railways and, in this context, the following projects are in the pipeline :-

(i) The process of land acquisition for construction of a new railway line from Dudhnoi to Mendipathar is under consideration (sanctioned project).

(ii) Joint survey and land acquisition process is on for construction of a railway line from Azara to Byrnihat and survey to extend upto Shillong is being undertaken. (Azara to Byrnihat is a sanctioned project).

(iii) Survey of railway line from Pancharatna (Jogighopa in Assam) to Silchar along the southern slopes of Meghalaya along Bangladesh border is in progress.

(iv) Proposal for connecting of Jowai to Lamding / Silchar has also been proposed.

Source: Meghalaya State Development Report 2008-09.

Railway Network in Northeaster Region as on 2003:

Source: NER Basic Statistics-2006