Union Railways Minister flags off First Janshatabdi Train connecting Manipur, Tripura & Assam
(EPT): The first Janshatabdi Express train connecting the state of Manipur with Tripura via Assam started on 8 January. The train was flagged off by Ashwini Vaishnaw Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology.
Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw flagged off the train through video conferencing mode, and said that the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working to develop the connectivity of the Northeast region and the country.
Tripura Chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, during the event, said that Tripura & Manipur shares both cultural and matrimonial relations as three of Tripura queens were from Manipur. These two states have again joined through railway lines, he added.
G Kishan Reddy, Union Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said that the much-awaited train service would provide major boost to trade and tourism in the Northeast region.
The Janshatabdi tri-weekly service would connect some important towns like Silchar, Badarpur, New Karimganj (all in Assam), Dharmanagar and Ambassa (in Tripura) apart from Jiribam (Manipur) and Agartala (Tripura) – the two terminal stations.
The Chairman of Railway Board and CEO V. K. Tripathi briefed about the newly introduced train service. On this occasion, the Chief Minister of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb said that this train service will reduce the travel time from Agartala to Silchar (nearby Arunachal Station) and Jiribam.
According to the Chief Public Relations Officer of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Guneet Kaur, journey shall cut the travel time by half as the journey time will be around 06 hours covering a distance of 300 Kms against about 12 hours or so it takes to travel by road.
This service will give an impetus to trade, tourism and transportation sector in this region including the three states. At present there is no direct train between Manipur and Tripura and only one train runs between Agartala and Silchar that too in the morning hours.
The Janshatabdi train will now provide direct connectivity to the people of Manipur going to Tripura for Educational and Health facilities and people of Tripura also get opportunity to visit Manipur for trade, tourism etc. boosting the overall economy of the region.