According to officials, the Jiribam-Imphal new line railway project, one of the critical connectivity projects for the North-eastern region, has made 93.30 percent progress. The works for this new line railway project, among other connectivity projects, is also going on in full swing to connect Imphal, the capital city of Manipur to the rest of the country. The Jiribam - Imphal project has already achieved physical progress of 93.30 per cent, Sabyasachi De, CPRO of NF Railway said. According to the NF Railway CPRO, the Jiribam-Imphal railway project includes many tunnels and bridges in difficult terrain that spans more than 111 kilometres. The total length of tunnels in this project is 61.32 km out of which 59.11 km of tunnelling works have already been completed. The project will have a total of 11 major bridges and 137 minor bridges, out of which work for 05 major bridges and 101 minor bridges have been completed so far. The tallest pier railway bridge in the world with a height of 141 meters is also being constructed in this project and nearing completion, Sabyasachi De said. Indian Railways is making a substantial contribution to the transformation of the Northeastern states by completing a number of new railway line projects. Under capital connectivity initiatives, new railway lines are being built to connect all of the state capitals in the northeastern region. The Jiribam-Imphal new line railway project, for example, is one of the critical connectivity projects for the Northeastern region that is nearing completion. He further stated that the portion from Jiribam to Khongsang has already been opened to rail traffic. After completion of the entire project, the present road journey time of about 10 hours to reach Imphal from Jiribam will get reduced to 2.5 hours by railways. NF Railway is putting their full effort by working 24X7 for the completion of this project with all the challenges like heavy rainfall and other logistic hindrances. The new rail project will provide enhanced connectivity to the people of Manipur, help grow small-scale industries in the area and boost the tourism of the state, Sabyasachi De further said. The NF Railway, CPRO, also stated that it will assist the state in acquiring necessary supplies faster and will assist state local producers in exporting their products outside the state more quickly. Economy of the state will receive a boost, he added. See also: Int’l connectivity is a priority for North East Frontier Railway World's highest pier railway bridge in Manipur takes shape