Mizorams Aizawl Joins Indian Rail Map As Indian Railways Pushes Beyond Chickens Neck
Mizoram’s capital Aizawl is poised to become the fourth Northeastern capital connected by rail, following Guwahati, Itanagar, and Agartala. The 51.38-km Bairabi–Sairang railway line, a Rs 5,021 crore engineering feat, has completed safety inspections and is set for inauguration pending final approval by the Railway Board.
This move signifies a strategic and symbolic milestone: pushing Indian Railways beyond the ‘Chicken’s Neck’, the narrow Siliguri Corridor that historically isolated the region post-Partition. Once fully operational, the line—boasting 48 tunnels, 55 major bridges, and a 104-metre-high pier—will cut travel time between Aizawl and Assam by three to four hours and improve troop movement in a geopolitically sensitive zone.
Sairang, 20 km from Aizawl, will serve as the capital’s railhead. The route slices through landslide-prone, quake-vulnerable Lushai Hills in Seismic Zone V, proving to be one of the most complex railway constructions in India. Yet, Indian Railways has persisted, surmounting logistical, terrain, and labor challenges to bring Aizawl onto the national rail grid.
This development follows closely on the heels of Srinagar’s connection to the Indian Railways network, reinforcing a national narrative of “connectivity to every corner”. From the world’s highest Chenab Bridge in Kashmir to the highest railway pier in Mizoram, India is reimagining rail infrastructure through tunnels, viaducts, and glass-roofed Vistadome coaches.
Aizawl’s inclusion is not an end but a milestone on the journey. Rail links to Imphal (Manipur), Kohima (Nagaland), Shillong (Meghalaya), and Gangtok (Sikkim) are already under construction or in planning. The goal is bold: connect every Northeastern capital by 2030. Projects like the Noney Bridge in Manipur, the Sivok-Rangpo tunnel corridor in Sikkim, and the Byrnihat extension to Shillong are carving paths through some of the country’s most rugged terrain.
In 1962, the Saraighat Bridge in Guwahati opened Northeast India to the national network. In 2025, the torch passes to Aizawl. And by 2030, the Northeast—once severed by geopolitical fault lines—could be fully stitched into the Indian rail fabric, capital by capital, tunnel by tunnel, bridge by bridge.
