After 18,000 km road project, India to build FOUR railway lines along India-China border

After India’s decision to build a 18,000-km long road along the Chinese border in Arunachal Pradesh the Modi government has come up with another big project to counter China. The Indian government has decided to lay down four railway lines near the Indo-China border, as per the sources the Railway Ministry has been asked to conduct a survey of the terrain and identify and map out the route. It is said that the railway line will give a strategic advantage to India, these will also be a part of the existing 14 railway lines that the Indian Army uses for its strategic deployment.

 

These railway tracks will be covering a distance of 1000 km and running through the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. The government has asked the Railway ministry to prepare and submit the budget for the survey by next month, sources reveal that the cost of engineering survey can go upto Rs. 200 crore.

 

Places identified for the railway line

Misamari-Tawang  Railway line 378 kms
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh, north Lakhimpur- Silapthar line 248 kms
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh, Murkongselek-Pasighat-Tezu-Parshuram Kund-Rupai Siding line 256 kms
Himachal Pradesh-Jammu and Kashmir, Bilaspur-Mandi-Manali-Leh 498 kms

 

The survey completion will approximately take two years, these railway lines will be laid down in Himalayas and so numerous tunnels will have to be dug out for the lines.

China may raise objections to the plans India has in mind. China had earlier expressed concern at India's plans to build a 1800km long road along the border, and asked New Delhi not to complicate the situation further. China was working on the premise that India may never create a physical challenge in the form of a road along the McMahon Line, knowledgeable sources said.

dailybaskar