Delhi-Guwahati bullet train to cross Chicken's Neck, says Assam CM Sarma
The proposed bullet train connecting New Delhi and Guwahati will cross the strategically important Chicken's Neck corridor on either an underground or elevated track, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
Sarma said the project would require substantial investment because of limited land in the narrow corridor connecting the Northeast with the rest of India. The detailed route and technology are yet to be finalised.
"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 in Guwahati.
He said he would discuss the project with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw during his next visit to Delhi.
According to PTI, Sarma said the Chicken's Neck corridor is about 22 km wide and narrows to 16 km in some stretches. With national highways and railway tracks already passing through the area, the project would require 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) β all these details will be worked out. When I visit Delhi next, I will meet the railway minister and get the details," he said.
The chief minister said the Centre had initially indicated that extending the bullet train network 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," he said.
Sarma said the bullet train could not operate on the existing tracks and would require a separate railway line. "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," he said.
He described the decision to extend the project 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)," Sarma said.
Vaishnaw announced on Saturday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved the bullet train project's North Corridor. It will connect Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Ayodhya, Varanasi, Prayagraj, Patna and Siliguri before extending to Guwahati.
The proposed Delhi-Guwahati bullet train will, therefore, require a dedicated line and either an underground or elevated crossing through the narrow Chicken's Neck corridor, with the route and technology still to be worked out.- Ends
