Guwahati, Nov 1 (IANS) The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has commissioned the existing 6.8-km Rangapani-Bagdogra siding line under its Katihar Division for regular freight operations, paving the way for smoother goods movement and strengthening freight connectivity in the region, officials said on Sunday.
Katihar Division headquarters in Katihar city in Bihar.
The Rangapani-Bagdogra corridor is a vital strategic and logistical railway link located in the Siliguri region (Chicken’s Neck) of Darjeeling district in North Bengal.
NFR’s Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said that the long-disused line has been brought into use with minimal expenditure, making productive use of existing railway infrastructure to meet growing freight transportation requirements. With this development, trains coming from East Central Railway (ECR) and entering NFR at Forbesganj will no longer require reversal at Siliguri Junction (SGUJ), he said.
Eliminating this reversal will result in substantial energy savings, avoid unnecessary detention of rolling stock and reduce the deployment of crew and shunting staff for reversal operations.
Sharma said that the new operational arrangement will enable NFR to receive at least 10 trains per day from ECR at Forbesganj for onward movement to destinations beyond Barsoi. This will significantly enhance freight handling capacity and operational efficiency, while facilitating faster movement and better utilisation of rolling stock, he added.
The additional freight route offers greater operational flexibility and more efficient utilisation of railway resources.
According to the NFR CPRO, for traders, businesses and consumers in the region, it is expected to support more reliable transportation of goods and strengthen local supply chains. The initiative also creates scope for NFR to handle additional freight traffic and generate revenue through better utilisation of an existing asset.
The conversion was carried out under the guidance of NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, with coordinated efforts by Katihar Division and the other concerned departments. It reflects NFR’s continued focus on improving services through teamwork and optimal utilisation of existing assets, Sharma said.
The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), headquartered at Maligaon near Guwahati, operates across the Northeastern states as well as in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar.
–IANS
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