Aizawl to get railway connection 172 years after Indian Railways establishment

Aizawl, Sep 11 (PTI) More than 172 years after the Britishers introduced railways to India, Aizawl, the capital city of northeastern state Mizoram, is set to get this mode of transportation starting September 13 and will join the vast Indian railways network.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the new railway line connecting Bairabi to Sairang, which is 20 km away from Aizawl, on November 29, 2014.

After working on the 51-km long project for over 11 years, the new rail link is ready to be flagged off.

PM Modi is expected to inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang railway section on September 13, which traverses through 45 tunnels and 153 bridges.

"This project was sanctioned in the year 2008, Bairabi - Sairang. Prior to that railway line was upto Bairabi. Bairabi is a station inside Mizoram but near Assam - Mizoram border," Nilanjan Deb, spokesperson, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone told PTI on Thursday.

Till 2014, the railway line upto Bairabi was metre gauge, which was converted into broad gauge in 2016, said Deb, adding that it enabled freight and passenger trains upto Bairabi.

On June 10, the final stretch from Hortoki to Sairang was commissioned, completing the 51.38 km line and connecting Aizawl (Sairang) to the Indian Railways network for the first time.

With four new railway stations -Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang - the project cost Rs 8,071 crore, and passes through steep hills, deep gorges and dense forests.

Besides lacking the luxury of time as only four months, November to March, will allow work in a year, due to disruptive heavy rain between April and October, the Railways had also dealt with unstable soft rocks with faults, fractures and water ingress causing collapses as part of executing this difficult project.

Due to the unavailability of construction materials such as sand, stones, chips and others in Mizoram, the Railways had to source them from nearby states Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Meghalaya and others through roadways and railways.

Now that the rail connectivity has been established, residents from Kolasib and Aizawl districts in Mizoram will stand to reap the benefits of easier, efficient and affordable travel facility. It enables them to avail better healthcare, education and business services in hubs such as Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati and Silchar.

Likewise, the new rail link will cut travel time from seven hours to just three hours, offering a shot in the arm for the easy movement of forest-based products, handicrafts, horticultural produce and generate more employment to the locals.

To promote tourism, IRCTC inked a two-year deal with Mizoram government in August 2025, encompassing plans such as a special tourist train under 'Discover NE (Northeast) beyond Guwahati' with Aizawl as a key destination.

Collaboration covers joint promotions, easy travel logistics and curated itineraries, which will boost the creation of local jobs in hospitality and also support overall economic development, among several other benefits. PTI STH KH