Northeast Frontier Railway zone stations to have airport like facilities: GM

Nearly 12 stations under the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) would be given a facelift and equipped with facilities comparable to airports, a top official said here Thursday. "The renovations would cover 11 stations, Kishanganj being one of these. The facilities would include escalators and lifts," NFR General Manager Sanjiv Roy said. In addition, work is in progress to reduce travel time and as a step in this direction, the maximum permissible speed on the Kishanganj-New Jalpaiguri section has been raised to 130 kms per hour, he said.

Roy, who was here on an inspection tour, took note of malfunctioning of the CCTV cameras and luggage scanner, and issued instructions for their expeditious repair.

"We want our stations to be spic and span and equipped with facilities that are comparable to airports," he remarked.

He said work is in progress to complete electrification of sections falling in the zone.

"The 88-km-long Kishanganj-New Jalpaiguri stretch will be electrified within four months. This would be followed by electrification of Lumding-Guwahati section in Assam which would be complete by March next year," he said.

Headquartered at Maligaon in Guwahati, the NEF zone encompasses 18 railway stations of Bihar, West Bengal and the entire North-East.