The Kamakhya-Yesvantpur (Bnagalore) Express at Kamakhya station in Guwahati on Monday. Picture by UB Photos

Guwahati, Feb. 3: The railways have set a fresh deadline of June 2016 for the completion of the much-delayed Silchar-Badarpur gauge conversion project.

DoNER minister Paban Singh Ghatowar announced this while flagging off the Kamakhya-Yesvantpur (Bangalore) Express, at Kamakhya railway station here today.

Ghatowar said the railway authorities had informed him about the new deadline.

“The 170km-Lumding-Badarpur gauge conversion work has suffered inordinate delay because of some technical difficulties in the construction of tunnels and law and order problems. I have been informed by the railway authorities that 61 per cent of the work has been done and the project is expected to be completed by June 2016.”

The foundation stone of the gauge conversion project was laid way back in 1996 and since then, the railways have missed several deadlines.

The initial estimated cost of the project was Rs 648 crore, which has now gone up to around Rs 5,000 crore.

According to sources in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), during the initial eight years (till 2004), the flow of funds was not enough as only Rs 339 crore was released.

“Following that, between 2006 and 2009, the project was badly hit by militancy in Dima Hasao district. During the period, militants killed 70 workers engaged in the project and abducted 10 others. The work gained momentum only after 2009, when the militant groups entered into a ceasefire with the government,” a source said.

Condemning the militant attack on railway staff and properties, the DoNER minister appealed to the rebel groups to desist from disturbing the railway projects in the greater interest of the state.

Ghatowar also lauded the Northeast Frontier Railway for carrying out the trial run of a train engine on the newly laid 20km-road gauge track between Harmutty and Naharlagun railway stations last month, thereby bring- ing Arunachal Pradesh on the railway map of the country.

He said a Rajdhani Express should be run up to Naharlagun for the convenience of the people of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.

On the introduction of the Kamakhya-Yesvantpur (Bangalore) Express, Ghatowar said it would benefit the students and professionals of the Northeast living in Bangalore, besides patients from the region who have to travel to Chennai for treatment.

He also urged the railways to increase the frequency of the train in the future.

Lok Sabha MP from Guwahati Bijoya Chakravarty, Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary, member (engineering) of the Railway Board Subodh Jain and NFR general manager R.S. Virdi, among others, were present at the inauguration.

The completely air-conditioned train is scheduled to complete its 3025-km-long journey from Guwahati to Bangalore in 53 hours.