Guwahati, May 7: Union minister of railways Suresh Prabhu today said projects worth about Rs 90,000 crore were being executed in the Northeast.

He laid the foundation stone for the construction of a 26-km broad gauge railway line from Murkongselek in Assam to Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh and announced the commencement of surveys for seven broad gauge railway lines in Arunachal Pradesh, by remote control through video link from the Northeast Frontier Railway headquarters at Maligaon this morning.

He also flagged off the new Shatabdi Express between Naharlagun and Guwahati by remote control. The train will provide a faster and comfortable connectivity between Itanagar and Guwahati.

The railway minister said Indian Railways has accelerated its development work. In the last three years alone, it has invested close to Rs 3.5 lakh crore for various projects in the country for capacity enhancement.

He said at present, projects worth about Rs 90,000 crore are being executed in the Northeast. He said they would also launch an application for a mobile platform to address passenger grievances soon.

Shatabdi Express, the super fast fully air-conditioned train, will cover the distance in six hours. It will start from Naharlagun at 5am to arrive in Guwahati at 11am every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. From Guwahati it will leave at 3.20pm to arrive in Naharlagun at 9.20pm every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This new train is expected to fulfil a long standing demand of the people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, railway minister of state Rajen Gohain and minister of state for home affairs Kiren Rijiju were among the dignitaries present at Naharlagun railway station. These surveys are in addition to the ones already announced for strategic lines connecting Tawang, Along and Parsuramkund, and are targeted for completion by December next year.

Terming the occasion as historic for Arunachal Pradesh, Khandu said the railway connectivity would open new vistas for economic development in the state. He hoped that the connectivity would boost tourism, increase agriculture and horticulture activities, and support other development activities such as hydropower.

Saying that Arunachal Pradesh is poised for growth in the coming days, the chief minister appealed to the people to cooperate with the government and take responsibility of their own development as team Arunachal.

Khandu said the Prime Minister was concerned about growth in the state and one could see development activities taking place along those lines. He said the people of the state should be grateful to Modi for the kind of development ambition he has chalked out for the state.

"To plan for railway connectivity in the tough terrains of Arunachal Pradesh itself shows great leadership quality of the Prime Minister and the concern he has for the state," he said.

Additional reporting by Damien Lepcha in Naharlagun