In both these sections, double lines have been commissioned along with Railway Electrification. Completion of these doubling sections will help operation of more freight traffic to & from Northeast region.
The entire work is completed during the Covid pandemic situation by observing necessary safety protocols by the Northeast Frontier Railway.
An official of N.F. Railway said that, Jalpaiguri Road – Y Leg section was the only super critical work left to be completed in N.F. Railway.
“This section has an important bridge of 970 mt length (20 spans) on the river Teesta. This section was a bottleneck as double lines on either side of this block section already existed. Doubling on either side of Y Leg is important as this junction provides alternate route between New Jalpaiguri and New Coochbehar. Betgara – Kolaigram section is a part of New Mainaguri – Gumanihat doubling project which is a critical work of N.F. Railway,” the official said.
He further said that, this doubling being on the busiest route of N.F. Railways give a lot of advantage in increasing the line capacity of this section. A permanent speed restriction of 90 km per hour had also been removed in the process of this doubling. A three lane road over bridge of 60 m span with bow string girders has been constructed on National Highway 31-D which is a first on this Railway.
It is expected that with the completion of these two critical sections, trains to and from Northeast will be able to move at a much faster speed and thereby benefiting travelling public.