The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) is continuing its hectic efforts to start running the much-anticipated electric locomotive-powered trains from Tripura at the earliest, an official said on Friday. 

An NFR official said that a trial run of the passenger train with an electric locomotive was successfully conducted on Friday between Agartala railway station and southern Assam’s Arunachal Junction railway station in Cachar district.

“Before regular running of electric passenger trains, such trial runs are mandatory. Few more trials of trains driven by electric locomotives are likely to be conducted before regular running of electric trains from Tripura,” the official said.

He said that the first goods train trial run with an electric locomotive was successfully conducted on February 6 between southern Assam’s Badarpur station and Tripura’s Jirania station, 15 km north of Agartala railway station.

According to the NFR official, necessary infrastructural works including electrification were completed recently in southern Assam and Tripura.

“After the successful operation of some more passenger and goods trains with electric locomotives, the regular running of passenger trains with electric locomotives would start on the route. We are frantically trying to start running passenger trains with electric locomotives at the earliest,” the official said.

Tripura is now well connected with Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Firozpur, Patna and other cities of the country by several express trains but passenger train services have been solely powered by diesel-powered engines.

A Rs 46 crore electrification project was launched in 2022 to connect Tripura with the national railway grid with electric trains.

The Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd (TSECL) would supply power to the railway electric transmission lines. As the infrastructure with electric railway lines is getting ready, the iconic Vande Bharat Express trains will be extended up to Assam’s Silchar and Agartala within the next few months, the NFR official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off Assam’s first Vande Bharat Express on May 29, 2023, connecting Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal).

The Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train journey takes 5 hours and 30 minutes, as compared to the previous fastest train on the same route, which takes about 6 hours and 30 minutes.

The Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express train operates six days a week. The NFR operates in the northeastern states, seven districts of West Bengal, and five districts of north Bihar.