Title - Itanagar on India's railway map soon

ITANAGAR: The capital city of Arunachal Pradesh, Itanagar, will soon be included in the country's railway map with the Harmuti to Itanagar railway line project nearing completion."Construction of all 46 minor bridges has been completed while substructure and superstructure of five out of eight major bridges is over. Work is in progress at the remaining sites," official sources informed here.Arunachal Pradesh is connected with only a 1.26-km railway link up to Bhalukpong in West Kameng district through Balipara to Bhalukpong (meter gauge) branch line (34.47 km), built in the year 1990.In order to provide rail link up to Itanagar, construction of a new line from Harmuti to Itanagar was proposed in 1996-97, but the project was put on hold following a request by the state government.Finally, the state government approved of the alignment from Harmuti to Itanagar in October 2006. The line which starts from Harmuti station of Rangiya-Murkongselek meter gauge section was to be converted into broad gauge, keeping in view the ongoing gauge conversion of the existing meter gauge line from Rangiya in Assam to Murkongselek in East Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The state government gave its consent in 2010 to terminate the railway line at Naharlagun. The alignment from Harmuti railway station traverses 9 km in Lakhimpur district of Assam and then 11 Km in Papum Pare district of Arunachal.Assam and Arunachal governments have already sanctioned the required land for the project to the railways. Track linking is also in progress, the sources disclosed.