Aizawl: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday inaugurated the Bairabi–Sairang railway line, giving Mizoram its first direct rail link to the rest of India.
The 51.38-km project, built at a cost of about ₹8,200 crore, is being seen as a major milestone for the Northeast. Featuring 48 tunnels and over 140 bridges, the line connects Sairang near Aizawl to the national railway grid for the very first time.
The Prime Minister described the project as a “historic moment” that would ease travel, cut transport costs, and open new avenues for trade and tourism.
Built Against the Odds
The project, costing about ₹8,200 crore, is an engineering triumph in one of the most difficult terrains in the country. The line cuts through hills and valleys, with 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges and 87 minor ones along the way. One of the bridges towers 104 metres above the ground—higher than Delhi’s Qutub Minar—underscoring the scale of the challenge.
Officials involved in the project describe it as among the toughest railway works taken up in the region, comparable to similar ventures in Manipur and Nagaland.
A Lifeline for the State
For Mizoram’s people, the railway is more than just steel tracks. It promises cheaper transport, easier access to markets, and new tourism opportunities. Farmers, who often struggled to move their produce out of the state, are expected to benefit the most.
With this, Aizawl joins Guwahati, Agartala, and Itanagar as the fourth state capital in the Northeast to be linked to the Indian Railways network.
A Dream Fulfilled
The line has been in the making for over a decade, with successive governments pledging to improve connectivity in the state. Its completion is being celebrated not just as an infrastructure milestone, but as the realisation of a long-cherished aspiration of Mizoram’s people.
As trains prepare to roll out from Sairang, the project stands as a powerful reminder that bridging distances in the Northeast is as much about uniting communities as it is about building infrastructure.
