Mizoram to get tourism boost through railway connection

Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) The land of blue mountains will soon get connected with the West Bengal capital via railway line, with the inauguration of a new express train service between Sairang in Mizoram and Kolkata on September 13, boosting tourism in the northeastern state.

A Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) official said that apart from this train, two other trains - a weekly Rajdhani Express to Anand Bihar and another daily express train to Guwahati- are set to be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Sairang on September 13, bringing Mizoram's capital Aizawl on the Indian railway map.

"The Kolkata-Sairang-Kolkata express train will be a tri-weekly service, providing important connectivity between Mizoram and West Bengal," an Eastern Railway (ER) official told PTI.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate the 51.28 km-long Bairabi-Sairang railway line in Mizoram on September 13, Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma has said.

The railway line will bring Aizawl onto the railway map as Sairang is located close to the capital city.

Stating that the task of taming the hilly terrain of Mizoram in terms of connectivity was quite a challenge, a railway official said that the work was planned and executed meticulously.

"Through the Central government's Act East policy, the beautiful North-Eastern state of Mizoram—long deprived of railway service due to its difficult geographical conditions and challenging hilly terrain—has now been gifted with the Bairabi–Sairang rail line, providing railway connectivity straight up to the state's capital- Aizawl," a railway official said.

The 51.38 km-long Bairabi-Sairang railway line has been constructed at a cost of around Rs 8,071 crore, he said.

The railway line through the hilly terrain of the land of the Blue Mountains passes through 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges, 87 minor bridges, five road overbridges and six road underbridges along the route, the official said.

Among the bridges is one that stands at a height of 114 metres, which is an impressive 42 metres taller than the Qutub Minar, he said.

The tunnels come alive with adornments of local artworks reflecting Mizo heritage and culture.

Maintaining that the benefits of this rail link will be multidimensional, he said that besides making travel easier, it will lead to credible socio-economic development, boosting tourism and other trade sectors—not only in Mizoram but across the other north-eastern states as well.

"It will not only bring ease and convenience to inter-state travel for locals, but also serve the purpose of intrastate and cross-border movement, imperative for the socio-economic development of the region and the nation at large," the official said.

Kolkata and Aizawl are at present connected by air and road.

Raj Basu, convenor of the Association for Conservation of Tourism, said that the biggest thing about the introduction of railway connectivity is increase in accessibility to the northeastern state.

"Earlier, this was an impediment," he said, maintaining that the railway connection will attract more travellers from Bengal, who are known for their wanderlust, to Mizoram.

Speaking to PTI, Basu said that Mizoram has its own branding that people in the state abide by rules, are friendly and that it is a safe destination for tourists.

"The state has come up as a post-COVID destination also because of its natural beauty and curiosity among people to visit areas bordering Myanmar," he said.

Maintaining that women empowerment is very strong in the northeastern state, Basu said that with female entrepreneurs getting into homestay business in a significant number in Mizoram, all-women tourist groups are also visiting the state in good numbers. PTI AMR RG