Chugging to northeastern capitals: Railways on tough track

Deadlines are being extended for a combination of terrain, six months of sloth due to rainfall and localised unrest such the Assam-Mizoram border dispute

On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced from the ramparts of the Red Fort that the capitals of the northeastern States would soon be connected by railway. The revised target for completing the projects is 2026, which may not be realistic given the combination of tough terrain, weather-dictated slowdown and ethnic and political unrest. The northeast comprises eight States. All barring Sikkim are connected by railway but only two State capitals are on the railway grid — Guwahati (the official Dispur is a small part of the city) in Assam and Agartala in Tripura. In the case of Arunachal Pradesh, the railway track terminates at Naharlagun, about 13 km short of capital Itanagar.