North-eastern Railway projects faced losses of over Rs 200 crore from natural disasters in 5 years: Railway Minister Vaishnaw
In a written response in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the geological weakness of the Northeast is always accounted for at the stage of design and implementation of Railway projects. These projects are being carried out by the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone of the Indian Railways.
'Due to floods, landslides etc. in the last five years, some damage to railway tracks and structures took place in Northeast Frontier Railway which was assessed to be over Rs 200 crore. Geology of the North Eastern Region is such that it is prone to landslides,' said Vaishnaw.
He added that for all major Railway projects in the hilly terrain (those in Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland), detailed geo-technical investigations and environmental impact assessments are carried out before going ahead with construction.
'These studies specifically assess slope stability, rock and soil characteristics, vegetation cover and hydrological patterns. Findings of these studies are used to anticipate the risk of landslides that can result from construction activities,' said the minister.
According to Railway Ministry data, as of April 1, 2025, 12 railway projects (eight new lines and four doubling), totaling 777 km in length and costing Rs 69,342 crore, have been sanctioned for the region. Out of this, 278 km of length has already been commissioned at an expenditure of Rs 41,676 crore incurred up to March 2025.
While the Bairabi-Sairang line, which connects Mizoram's capital Aizawl for the first time, is set to be operational, some of the key ongoing projects in the Northeast are the Dimapur-Kohima New Line (Dhansiri-Zubza) to connect Nagaland's capital Kohima, the Murkongselek-Pasighat new line, the Sivok-Rangpo new line to connect Sikkim to the national network for the first time and the Jiribam-Imphal new line.
Dheeraj Mishra is a Principal correspondent with The Indian Express, Business Bureau. He covers India's two key ministries- Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. He frequently uses the Right to Information (RTI) Act for his stories, which have resulted in many impactful reports. ... Read More
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