(a) whether the Railways propose to provide rail connectivity to all the capital cities of the North-Eastern States and if so, the details thereof and funds earmarked for the purpose;
(b) whether the Railways also propose to introduce train tours to the North-Eastern States for students across the country at subsidized rates in order to increase the mobility and people-to-people interaction towards these States; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3551 BY SHRI GANGA RAJU TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 15.12.2014 REGARDING NORTH EAST TRAIN TOURS.
(a): Rail connectivity already exists for capital cities of Assam (Guwahati), Tripura (Agartala) and Arunachal Pradesh (Itanagar). To provide connectivity to capitals of Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland and Mizoram, following new line projects have been taken up:
(Rupees in crores) S.No. State Capital Name of project (length) Outlay 2014-15 1. Meghalaya Shillong Byrnihat-Shillong (108 km) 50 2. Manipur Imphal Jiribam-Imphal (125 km) 1750 3. Nagaland Kohima Dimapur-Kohima (88 km) 50 4. Mizoram Aizawl Bhairabi-Sairang (51 km) 200 5. Sikkim Gangtok Sivok-Rangpo (44 km)# 50#Sivok-Rangpo New Line has been taken up to connect Sikkim but the proposal to extend this line upto its capital i.e Gangtok has not been taken up.