Agartala, Feb 4 (UNI) Taking part in the launch of the most modern Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches equipped with state-of-the-art features in the Agartala-Deoghar-Agartala weekly express train on Saturday, Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha said the Prime Minister’s HIRA (highways, internet way, railway, and airway) model of development gave a boost to the Northeast.
Under Narendra Modi’s rule, all the northeastern states were connected by railway with an impressive frequency of trains, new national highways, sustainable air connectivity, and high-speed internet services over a decade. The people of the Northeast had a feeling of alienation because of the long suppression in terms of communication and development, which Modiji has erased and made the region on par with other parts of the country, the Chief Minister stated.
“Railway reached Tripura in the 1970s, but Agartala got connected with the rest of the country after 2014, and at present, as many as 18 trains, including express trains like Tejas and local trains, are providing service to the people of the state, which once was unbelievable. All major cities of the country have train service from Agartala,” Dr. Saha stated.
The connectivity of Tripura will be improved further after train service from Agartala to Kolkata via Dhaka is made operational. The trial run of the proposed service has already been carried out successfully up to Agartala and Gangasagar (Bangladesh), and hopefully, by this year, the service will begin.
The Chief Minister pointed out that the LHB coaches will further enhance safety and comfort for commuters. The passenger coaches were built as per the design made by the Linke Hofmann Busch company in Germany. They can run at more speed, have higher journey comfort, and have better safety features.
The newly converted LHB train Agartala-Deoghar Express will depart from Agartala every Saturday and the Deoghar-Agartala Express will depart from Deoghar every Monday via several stations in Bihar, West Bengal, and Assam to the holy city of Deoghar for pilgrimage, Northeast Frontier Railway officials stated, adding that it will consist of 21 LHB design coaches, which include five AC 3-tier, ten sleeper class, three 2nd class coaches, one pantry car, and two power cars.
