The Hindu Business Line : `Northeast Frontier Rly maintains normal freight traffic'

Despite disturbed law and order situation in the Northeast, normal transhipment of freight traffic at Lumding Division under the Northeast Frontier Railway has been maintained. Freight traffic of more than 125 broad gauge wagons are being transhipped every day into more than 200 metre gauge wagons at Lumding, according to Mr A.K. Sanwalka, General Manager of NF Railway.

"The successful transhipment at Lumding also confirms perfect matching of both broad gauge and metre gauge services," Mr Sanwalka told Business Line over phone from his office at Maligaon (Guwahati).

Essentials

From Lumding, there are three metre gauge services, one going to Badarpur and further to Silchar, the other to Karimganj further extending up to Manu in Tripura via Dharamnagar and Kumarghat and the third one to Mizoram. The bulk of traffic on these routes is foodgrains, transported by the Food Corporation of India.

Also, some quantities of cement and essential items are moved. An additional quantity of petroleum products, equivalent of 20 metre gauge wagons, is also transhipped at Lumding for onward movement on these routes.

The progress of work in conversion of all these metre gauge sections into broad gauge has been halted due to rise in militancy. In October alone, 11 workers were killed and several were kidnapped.

Due to this only a small portion of the entire gauge conversion work, scheduled to be over by 2009, has been completed.

Seeking help

The Railways has taken up the matter with the Assam Government. The members of the Lumding-Silchar Gauge Conversion Contractors' Association too have met the Chief Minister, Mr Tarun Gogoi, and apprised him of the situation. There have been reports that Army's help might be sought.

Meanwhile, Mr Sanwalka visited Tripura recently to get first hand knowledge of the work in progress in the State. Right now, new metre-gauge line is being laid over 110-km stretch between Manu and Agartala.

The work is due to be completed in December 2007. Subsequently, this stretch too will be converted into broad gauge.