STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: The Assam Rail Passengers Association has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrange for resumption of certain train services in Assam which were suspended during the Covid-19-related lockdown in March, 2020.
In the letter to the Prime Minister, the association's general secretary Dipankar Sharma lauded the Prime Minister for imparting "a thrust on the development of infrastructure of the North-East region which remained neglected sine attainment of Independence by our country. Land-locked Manipur achieved railway connectivity after long 75 years of Independence under your initiative."
At the same time, Sharma made special reference to two train services - train No. 55818/817 (Guwahati-Rangiya-New Bongaigaon) and train No. 15771/772 (Alipurduar Junction-Rangiya-Kamakhya) - which need to be resumed at the earliest to alleviate the problem faced by railway passengers of the State. Repeated requests by the association to the Northeast Frontier (NF) Railway authority have failed to bear fruit, he added.
Further, he apprised the Prime Minister that there is no direct train between Silchar and New Bongaigaon (via Rangiya), which is a big obstacle for people of Lower Assam who desire to travel to Silchar in the Barak Valley. As such, Sharma urged the Prime Minister to ensure that either the existing train services from Guwahati to New Bongaigaon is extended or a direct new train inter-city train service is introduced from New Bongaigaon to Silchar via Rangiya. Such a new service will also benefit passengers from the Rangiya-Rangapara section, he added.
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