Prabhu Lays Foundation Stone of Imphal Railway Station
Imphal
Marking a historic moment for the north-eastern State of Manipur, the Hon’ble Union Minister of Railways, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu laid the Foundation stone of the proposed Imphal Railway Station in front of an impressive gathering at Imphal today. The Railway Minister also formally announced commencement of the work of the longest tunnel of Indian Railway (11.55 km long tunnel No. T 12) on the Jiribam – Tupul – Imphal new broad gauge railway line.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Railways said connectivity is the prime driver of development and the Railway Ministry would not spare any resources for bringing in speedy development of rail connectivity in the region. He said, Indian Railways have taken a holistic approach towards development and the 111-km long new broad gauge railway line from Jiribam to Imphal will not only connect Imphal to the rest of the country but also open up new vistas for economic development of the region.
Shri Prabhu said, we are proud of our cultural heritage and therefore the proposed Imphal Station had been designed incorporating the architectural elements of Kangla Fort Gate and Shri Govindji Temple – two historical monuments of Manipur. He said, the Union Minister of State for Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain would be entrusted with monitoring progress of the projects so that they can be completed in time. Shri Prabhu announced the commencement of the work of Tunnel No 12 and said the tunnel would connect two parts of Manipur by rail but would also be a symbolic representation of the state getting connected to the Indian mainland.
Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Railways, Shri Rajen Gohain in his speech reiterated the government’s commitment towards all-round development of the northeastern region and assured that he would personally monitor the progress of all railway projects in the region.
The Chief Minister of Manipur, Shri Okram Ibobi Singh, while expressing immense satisfaction and happiness for Indain Railway’s initiatives for bringing in better connectivity to the region, requested the government to consider extending the railway line to Moreh from Imphal. He assured all possible help including safety and security arrangements for the man and materials involved in railway projects in the state.
About The Project
The 111-km long Jiribam – Tupul – Imphal new broad gauge railway project was taken up in 2008. The project was declared a National Project because of its importance. The 12.5 –km Jiribam to Dholakhal section has been completed and commissioned for freight train in March 2016. On the 84–km Jiribam – Tupul section, out of the 37 tunnels, 25 have been completed as on 30th April 2016 and the works for the rest are also progressing well. There are two striking special features of the Jiribam – Imphal new broad gauge railway line that would make every Indian proud. The first is the tallest bridge of the world being constructed over Iring river with a pier height of 141 metres (almost equal to two Qutub Minar stacked over each other) and the second is the tunnel No. 12 with a length of 11.55 km, which would be the longest tunnel in India. The proposed Imphal Railway Station is located in Yurembam village at about 13.00km from the centre of the Imphal city in Manipur and just about 1.50 km from the Air port. The overall cost of construction of the Station Building will be around Rs. 8.7 Crores. It will be terminating station with all facilities including three passenger platforms and coach maintenance shed.
