The approach road to Siliguri Junction. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Feb. 12: The railway ministry has sanctioned Rs 550 crore for electrifying the Barauni-Guwahati track, covering the entire north Bengal and some parts of Assam and Bihar, said Basudev Acharia. The CPM MP is the chairman of the railway standing committee of Parliament.

The move, railway officials said, is aimed at introducing engines powered by electricity in the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) which does not have electrified tracks now. Acharia told The Telegraph over telephone that in the first phase, the Barauni-Guwahati stretch would be electrified, funds for which had already been sanctioned.

He also said the first phase of construction on the New Mainaguri-Jogighopa railway line, another route to Assam, would be complete by 2009 and the rest by 2011. “Construction of a new track from New Mainaguri to Golokganj in Assam will also be completed next year and train services will be introduced soon after.”

Acharia, who had been to north Bengal recently, was asked by members of the Changrabandha-New Mal Railpath Unnayan Sangram Committee to convert the meter gauge track, which is idle now, into broad gauge and start train services to Changrabandha where a customs station is located on the border with Bangladesh.

“The Changrabandha-New Mal section was opened by then railway minister Mamata Banerjee in 2001. But when the Siliguri Junction-Alipurduar section was converted into broad gauge in 2003, this route became defunct, said a convener of the committee, Prabhat Dey.

The MP also spoke about the recent decision of NFR to improve the infrastructure at Siliguri Junction station to ease the load of New Jalpaiguri. While informing that some more trains like Darjeeling Mail will originate from Siliguri, Acharia said what was essential was the augmentation of infrastructure in and around the station.