The dream of independence came true for the people of Sitamarhi region after the first train started for Muzaffarpur from Runnisaidpur station on Tuesday. From Sitamarhi to Muzaffarpur, this new rail line has a distance of 63 km and Rs 550 crore have been spent for its construction in 16 years. The foundation laying of this project was performed by the then rail minister Ram Vilas Paswan in 1997 and at that time the cost was estimated around Rs 250 crore, said the Samastipur ECR DRM Arun Mallick. The fare for passenger train will only be Rs15 whereas buses charge Rs 60 for the same destination. This shall be a soothing impact on passengers, added the DRM.
The flagging off ceremony was held in the newly-proposed New Runnisaidpur railway station premises where the foundation for railway station building was laid by Sitamarhi MP Arjun Rai amid much fanfare. While addressing the people at the function, Rai said Rs 250 crore have been spent during his tenure as an MP in four years for speedy completion of this historic rail link between Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur. He also disclosed that survey and land acquisition work for the new rail line for Sonbarsa and Parihar would start during financial year 2013-14.
It may be mentioned here that train services between Sitamarhi-Runnisaidpur stations were started in the 2011 but still only a pair of trains run. For the stretch of 40 km between Runnisaidpur and Muzaffarpur, the rail ministry got the CRS nod only on March 16.
Sitamarhi, located in the Indo-Nepal border region, is connected by rail
with Samastipur and Darbhanga and the tracks go up to Narkatiaganj in
East Champaran. However, thus far, it has remained without any rail
link with Patna or Muzaffarpur.
Sitamarhi has road connections to adjoining districts, of which the major examples are National Highway 77 and National Highway 104. It is situated on the Darbhanga Narkatiaganj railway line and has the largest railway station of district. Another broad gauge track, running between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi. Direct train services are available to places such as New Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi and Kanpur.
For starters, two passenger trains will run between Muzaffarpur and Sitamarhi every day.
For people residing in Sitamarhi, the
inauguration of the track is a great relief. The 150-km journey by road
from Muzaffarpur to Sitamarhi takes about six hours. “Now it will take
just two hours. By road it often took six hours. During monsoon, the
road gets breached by floodwater,” said Manikant Singh, a resident of
Sitamarhi town.
source:TNN
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