Agartala/Guwahati, June 16 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has intensified efforts to introduce electric train services between Tripura and Assam at the earliest, railway officials said on Tuesday.

A senior NFR official said that, ahead of the commencement of regular electric train operations, new Electric MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) passenger services are being operated on a trial basis connecting Agartala with destinations such as Dharmanagar in North Tripura, Sabroom in South Tripura, and Karimganj in southern Assam.

The official said that the six to eight-coach electric MEMU trains are currently running on different routes in Tripura and southern Assam as part of trial operations. During these trials, railway engineers are assessing the performance of the newly installed electrification infrastructure and identifying any technical shortcomings.

“During the trial runs, the required voltage levels of the overhead electric lines and other technical parameters are being thoroughly examined. After receiving satisfactory reports from the concerned officials, the railway authorities will take a final decision regarding the regular operation of electric trains on these routes,” the official told IANS.

Meanwhile, Tripura Power Minister Ratan Lal Nath had earlier announced that the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd. (TSECL) has completed 100 per cent electrification of the state’s 271-km railway network.

He had noted that the first train reached Dharmanagar in northern Tripura in 1964, while it took another 44 years for the railway network to connect the state capital Agartala in 2008. Rail connectivity was further extended to Sabroom in southern Tripura in 2019.

“After Narendra Modi assumed office as Prime Minister in 2014, the broad-gauge conversion project in Tripura was completed. Earlier, the railway line was a metre-gauge track. The international railway link connecting Agartala with Akhaura in Bangladesh was also completed in 2023. The present state and Central governments know how to ensure development and accelerate the progress of a state,” Nath had said.

The total broad-gauge railway network from Churaibari, on the Tripura-Assam border, to Sabroom near the India-Bangladesh border in southern Tripura now spans 271 km. The minister had said that all related development and expansion works were completed within seven years.

Under the Centre’s Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, redevelopment work is currently underway at four railway stations in Tripura — Agartala, Udaipur, Kumarghat and Dharmanagar.

Nath, who also holds the Agriculture portfolio, said that more than 19 trains are currently operating from Tripura to various destinations across the country.

A railway official said that trial runs of passenger trains hauled by electric locomotives were successfully conducted earlier between Agartala railway station and Arunachal Junction railway station in Assam’s Cachar district.

“Such trial runs are mandatory before the commencement of regular electric passenger train services. A few more trial runs with electric locomotives are likely to be conducted before the formal launch of regular electric train operations from Tripura,” the official said.

He added that before the passenger train trials, the first goods train hauled by an electric locomotive had successfully operated between Badarpur station in southern Assam and Jirania station in Tripura, located around 15 km north of Agartala.

As the electrified railway infrastructure nears completion, the NFR is also planning to extend services of the iconic Vande Bharat Express trains up to Silchar in Assam and Agartala in Tripura within the next few months, the official said.

Tripura is currently connected to major cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Firozpur and Patna through several express trains. However, all passenger train services operating in the state have so far been powered by diesel locomotives. To integrate Tripura more effectively with the country’s electrified railway network, a Rs 46-crore railway electrification project was launched in 2022, paving the way for the introduction of electric train services in the northeastern state.

–IANS

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