Imphal, March 7: The 100-km long Jiribam-Tupul broadgauge railway line will be completed within five years. Disclosing this at a news conference here on Friday evening, Vipan Nanda, general manager, Northeast Frontier Railway, said the time schedule can be maintained only if militants do not disturb the ongoing work.
The estimated cost of the project at current price is Rs 7,300 crore.
Nanda said the Indian Railways project linking Jiribam and Tupul, has been sanctioned and all work to execute the project is in their final stages. Acquisition of land and distribution of compensation to affected landowners will commence soon as an initial step towards taking up the project, he said.
Nanda said the Northeast Frontier Railway has not decided on the number of tunnels to be dug for the project. It will come up in the final report of the project, he added.
Obtaining prior permission from respective states through which the railway tracks are likely to pass and a clearance from the Ecological Survey of India are the likely constraints in the implementation of the project.
Highlighting the benefits of putting the state on the railway map, the general manager said people from Manipur could travel to any part of the country faster and at cheaper rates. Difficulties faced by transporters along the Imphal-Dimapur road also would subside, he added.