PM Inaugurates Longest Rail-Road Bridge

Courtesy: All India Radio

Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Bogibeel Bridge on the Bhramaputra river in Assam on Tuesday. The 4.94-km long bridge has a two-line rail track on the lower deck and a three-lane road on the top.

PM Modi took a ride on the bridge and waved at the thousands of people from the middle of the bridge.

It connect Dhemaji and Dibrugarh and will reduce the time taken to travel to Arunachal Pradesh from Assam by four hours. The new train line cuts three hours for trains coming to Dibrugarh from the west.

It is the country’s first fully welded bridge confirming to European codes, and can withstand tanks and fighter jet landings. The proximity to China makes it important from a military stand-point.

The bridge has been built at a cost of around Rs 5900 crore and has a serviceable period of around 120 years.

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda in 1997 had laid the foundation stone of the bridge. The construction began in 2002 and took 21 years.