The construction of India’s tallest railway pier bridge in Manipur as part of 111 km Jiribam-Imphal railway project will be completed ahead of its scheduled target of March 2022.
The 555-metre long bridge is one of the 148 bridges along the route which also has 47 tunnels through steep hills to connect Imphal with the broad gauge network of the country.
“We would like to complete the tallest bridge before the tunnels,” Railway Board chairman VK Yadav told reporters at Marangching in Noney district in Manipur.
“We would like to complete (it) before March 2022 which is the outer limit,” he said.
Yadav accompanied by Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR)?general manager Sanjive Roy and other senior officials of the Railways visited Manipur on Saturday to inaugurate 2.265-km long tunnel on the Jiribam-Imphal line at Marangching village in Noney district.
Marangching village is about 65 km west of Imphal.
The pier railway bridge near the Noney district headquarters is also one of the world’s the tallest railway bridges with a height of 141 metres.
The total estimated cost of the railway bridge is Rs 280 crores.
Yadav said most of the tunnels in the project have been completed except the longest one.
The Tupul-Imphal railway tunnel on the Jiribam-Imphal line which was taken up as national project since 2008, is one of India’s longest rail tunnels at 10.28 km.
He said that the tunnel is the most critical and it is going to take time because it is a long tunnel.
“But we’re making our effort to complete the entire railway project in Manipur before December 2021,” Yadav said.