Union Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a substantial allocation of Rs. 104 billion for the development of railway infrastructure in the North East, marking a historic increase in funding for the region. Vaishnaw made the announcement during his virtual interaction with journalists from North Eastern states on the railway infrastructure projects outlined in the Union Budget for 2025-26. Vaishnaw informed that Indian Railways will continue to expand faster, safer and more comfortable rail travel across the country with a budget allocation of over Rs. 2.65 lakh crores for the second consecutive year. The Railway Ministry plans to roll out 200 new Vande Bharat trains, 100 Amrit Bharat trains and 50 Namo Bharat rapid rails, which will cater particularly to the needs of lower and middle-class citizens. Additionally, the construction of 1000 new flyovers and underpasses will further enhance safety across the country. Acknowledging the ongoing progress of railway projects in the North East, despite the challenging terrain, Vaishnaw highlighted that since 2014, 1824 kilometers of new tracks have been laid, surpassing the entire rail network of Sri Lanka. Additionally, 478 new flyovers and underpasses have been constructed across the northeastern states. Furthermore, the implementation of Kavach safety systems on 1189 Route Kilometers is underway. The General Manager of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Chetan Kumar Shrivastava and GM or NFR (Construction) Arun Kumar Choudhary, who were also present during the virtual interaction, informed that 92 stations in the region will be revamped under the Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme. The electrification of all tracks under NFR jurisdiction is expected to be completed by December 2025 and the Bhairabi-Sairang project in Mizoram is scheduled for completion by July 2025. The Rs. 104 billion allocation for railway infrastructure in the Northeast is more than five times higher than the average allocation of Rs. 21.22 billion during the 2009-2014 period.