All eight northeast states will have train connectivity with Delhi: Suresh Channabasappa Angadi

DIBRUGARH: Union minister of state for railways Suresh Channabasappa Angadi on Friday said all the eight states of the northeast will be connected to Delhi by long-distance trains.
The Union minister made this announcement while visiting the Bogibeel Bridge on his way to Itanagar to attend a programme. The minister spent nearly 2 hours at the bridge site on the south bank and was briefed by senior officials of the NF Railway.Later, he also undertook a boat ride to watch the splendour of the country's longest rail-cum-road bridge from the Brahmaputra.
"Our honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes special care of the northeast. It was under his direction that today I have come to visit the region. I have seen the magnificence of the bridge. Day before yesterday, I visited a beautiful bridge at Kashi which was built by the British in 1911. But the Bogibeel Bridge is far more eye catching. I congratulate the engineers and the 3,000 workmen who toiled day and night to construct the bridge. I'm feeling proud to set foot on this bridge which was started by honourable Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," said Angadi.
He added that the Railway ministry was committed to finishing all pending railway projects in NE by 2022. "We are going to connect the eight sisters of the northeast to capital Delhi by long-distance trains. By 2022, every single railway project of the northeast will be completed," the minister said.
On December 25, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dedicated the 4.94-km long Bogibeel Bridge to the nation, thereby ushering in a new era in road and rail connectivity in the region. Situated 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh, the bridge over the Brahmaputra connects Dibrugarh and Dhemaji districts.
The foundation stone of the bridge was laid almost 21 years ago by ex-PM HD Deve Gowda on January 22, 1997, before the construction work was kickstarted by Atal Bihari Vajpayee on April 21, 2002. Due to multiple delays over the years, the cost of the project shot up from Rs 1,767 crore to Rs 5,800 crore. Owing to its sluggish pace, the multi-crore project had earned the unflattering tag of the slowest moving infrastructure project of the northeast.
Described as an engineering marvel, a record 70,000 MT of steel was used in the bridge which is said to be equivalent to 10 Eiffel towers. The total length of welding carried out is approximately 12,800 km, which is equivalent to circling 1.5 times around the moon. The bridge is set up 32 metres above the bed level of the Brahmaputra.