Himalayan Times (1958)

■to

April 20 1W58

RAILWAY DEVELOPMENT IN NORTH EAST INDIA

D C. BAUAL

General Manager, North East Frontier Railway

The youngest and tant problems. It paaaea immediate problem! to be

the smallest ot the Zonal through an srea which is taokled.

Railways in India, the aubjeot to heavy rains Rapid Increase In Goods

North East Frontier Rail- and consequent floods and Traffic,

way, name into existence breaches. During the There has been a

on January 15, 1958 monsoons the mainten- -d in0MM, in raii

Inaugurating th» new anoe of through oommu- tr£ffio -n |h# m% dnrj

Zone, Shri Jagjivan Ram, nioation causes consider- reoent u ^ u

Minister for Railways, ableaniietytotheR.il. .vid,ntfrom the following

said that a succession of way engineers responsible f. of gome ,eleoted

problems of eons.derable for the maintenance of ^^m^ carried by

magnitude haying vital the track. The transport . ^ r,n ljnfg

bearing on strategic con- capacity especially over . the new Zone:

siderations, internal admi- the link from Kishanganj J, °

nistration, economic ex- to Alipur Duar junotion, Commodity 1951-52 1956-57

pansion and industrial is limited, because crrtain (Figures in tons)

development of the north- sections inoluded in the Petre-

eastern parta of the ooun- route were unimportant leum 2,47,000 4,04,000

try had arisen. branch lines prior to parti- Tea 1 40 000 1'61 000

T ™.nfh. m tion, ill-equipped to carry Coal 3W0OO O^OOO

In view of the emer- heavy traffic Steep gra- * ' * '

genoe of these faotors, a dients limit the capacity Timber 50,000 1,00,COO

stage had been reaohed in oertain sections and Jute 2,13,000 3,14 000

when it became necessary banking engines have to r,___. ____. _, ..

to provide permanently used, that is, each train SSmrfto
for this area suitable rail- has to be hauled by two yapaeiiy
way rjfaohinery competent engines.1 The rail transport
to deal promptly and oapaoity is being progres
effectively with the imme. The river Brahmaputra sively developed to oope
diate as well as long-term divides the railway into with the ever-increasing
railway problems and it two separate portions and traffic Large scale works
waa in this oontext that goods and passenger are of yard remodelling, pro-
it was deoided to looate oarriod' across the river vision of additional cros-
a full-fledg-d railway ad- by, means of ferries, which sing stations, lengthening
ministration in the area *r8 subjeot to the vaga- of loops, improvements in
by bifuroatine the North rie« of the mighty river. signalling, etc have been
Eastern Railway Strengthening-^ the link planned for increasing the

route, development of line , line oapaoity. To give a

The new Railway, oapaoity, and construction brief description of the

though small has a num. of a bridge aoross Brabraa- measures that are beinjt

ber of difficult but impor- putra are some of the taken, it would1' be best