Railway fast tracks ₹13,809 cr line in Manipur

The country's ambitious railway line between Jiribam-Imphal in Manipur, which connects the capital of the state with the broad gauge rail network of the country at an investment of ₹13,809 crore, will be completed by 2020, project chief engineer Sai Baba Ankala said during a function in the state, when he delivered an expert lecture on the challenges in Design & Construction of the World's Tallest Bridge organized by Institute of Engineers (India). The project in question has already been declared a national project as IITs at Kanpur, Roorkee and Guwahati are also associated with this ambitious rail project by way of technical support and proof-checking of designs to making the bridge cost-efficient and sustainable. He revealed that the alignment of the 111 km long Jiribam-Imphal railway line passes through steep rolling hills of the Patkai region traversing through a number of deep gorges and over several rivers flowing at lower ground levels. As a result, it has been necessary to construct 52 tunnels and 149 bridges crossing 10 stations to maintain a suitable gradient for efficient operation of railway services, he added.