First goods train with cement, potatoes reaches Khongshang
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, May 27 2024: In what could be a significant step towards development of Manipur's infrastructure, the state received its first consignment of cement by goods train at Khongshang station in Noney district, which is around 100 km from the state's capital.

The milestone on Monday is expected to help reduce transportation costs and make prices of construction materials cheaper and accessible in Manipur.

The consignment, which included tonnes of cement bags and hundreds of bags of potatoes, arrived via the newly operational goods train service.

These goods will be transported from Khongshang railway station to Imphal via National Highway 37, which connects Imphal to Silchar through Jiribam.

This initiative is expected to greatly reduce transportation costs, making construction materials more affordable and accelerating infrastructure development in the state.

In a post on the social media chief minister N Biren said: "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the Indian Railways, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), and the officials involved for their relentless efforts in making this possible".

Confirming arrival of the cement and potato consignments along with few other essential items for the first time via the goods train, he said such an endeavour is expected to significantly lower transportation costs and make construction materials more affordable for the people of the state, apart from expediting infrastructure development.

He also extended gratitude to the NFR for their unwavering support in achieving this milestone.

The introduction of rail transport for goods into the state represents a significant improvement in logistics and supply chain efficiency, promising enhanced economic stability and growth for the state.

The goods train transporting over 700 metric tonnes of essentials, mainly cement and potatoes, reached Khongshang from Guwahati around 7 am Monday.

Transportation of goods by train is expected to address frequent challenges of bandh and economic blockades imposed by various outfits on the two key national highways, NH-2 (Imphal-Dimapur route) and NH-39 (Imphal-Jiribam route).

During periods of bandhs and blockades, as well as frequent landslides along these routes, Manipur faces steep price hikes and commodity shortages.

The new rail transport option is poised to mitigate these issues, ensuring a more stable supply of essential goods and supporting the local economy.

It is worth mentioning that the Jiribam-Khongshang rail line project, which commenced in 2022, was halted due to the ethnic violence in the state on May 3, 2023 .

However, the railway station resumed normal operations in July 2023, allowing the transportation of essential goods.

During his visit to the violence-affected state on June 1, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that efforts to launch train services to Khongshang would be intensified, to address shortage of essential goods in the troubled region.

Subsequently, work on the railway station commenced following his announcement.

In addition, a marketing inspector was appointed in Imphal to oversee the transportation of essential goods by Manipur-based traders via the railways, enabling traders to book essential goods through the marketing inspector.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that essential commodities such as potatoes, onions and FMCG products from West Bengal, Maharashtra and Assam respectively were transported till Khongshang railway station in July last year.

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