Bullet train to Guwahati to cross ‘Chicken Neck’ via elevated or underground track: Himanta
Assam CM Himanta Sarma says proposed Delhi-Guwahati corridor will need specialised engineering and higher investment to navigate the strategically sensitive 22-km-wide stretch
Guwahati, Nov 3 (PTI) The proposed bullet train connecting New Delhi and Guwahati will pass through the strategically important Chicken Neck corridor either through an underground or an elevated track, involving substantial investment, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday.
He said the detailed alignment and technology for the proposed railway network were yet to be worked out and that he would discuss the matter with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his next visit to Delhi.
"The line has been approved. After this, there are many steps, such as a survey and then establishing a parallel line. The first good news is that Guwahati is on the bullet train map. Now, the details will have to be worked out," Sarma told reporters here.
He said since the line will pass through the Chicken's Neck corridor, it will require a different technology, as the narrow stretch, which connects the Northeast with the rest of the country, is around 22 km wide and needs a different engineering approach.
"There are already national highways and railway tracks. So, whether the Chicken Neck will be crossed underground or it will be overground (elevated) -- all these details will be worked out. When I visit Delhi next, I will meet the railway minister and get the details," the CM said.
He informed the media that initially the Centre had said a bullet train to Guwahati might not be possible.
"But after I met with Ashwini Vaishnaw and the PM, now they have agreed that it will come to Guwahati. But we need to know more about the technology," Sarma said.
The track for the superfast train will have to be underground or elevated because of the paucity of land area, he added.
"The entire width is 22 km, and in some patches, it is only 16 km. Also, the bullet train cannot run on the present track. It has to be a separate railway line. This is a very big decision. Otherwise, it would have stopped in Siliguri and rightly so. It is not easy to cross the Chicken Neck," Sarma said.
Sarma said the Centre had initially indicated that extending the bullet train network to Guwahati might not be feasible.
"But after I met Vaishnaw and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, they have now agreed that it will come to Guwahati. But we need to know more about the technology," he said.
The chief minister said the bullet train would require a dedicated railway line and could not operate on the existing tracks.
He termed the decision to bring the bullet train to Guwahati as "very remarkable, bold and courageous".
"There will be a lot of money involved. The investment will be double or triple (than the normal case)," the CM stressed.
Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that Modi has approved the 'North Corridor' of the bullet train project, which will connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna, Siliguri, and extend to Guwahati. PTI