Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated Mizoram’s first-ever railway line, the Bairabi–Sairang broad gauge project, marking a historic moment in the state’s connectivity journey.

The 51.38 km track was built at a cost of Rs 8,070 crore and is described as one of the most complex undertakings in the history of Indian Railways.

Sanctioned in 2008-09 and launched for construction in 2015, the line features 45 tunnels, 55 major bridges, 87 minor bridges and ten road overpasses and underpasses.

Nearly 54 per cent of the alignment runs through tunnels and bridges. One of its most striking structures is Bridge No. 144 near Sairang, which at 114 metres is taller than Delhi’s Qutub Minar, making it the tallest pier railway bridge in the country, according to the Northeast Frontier Railway.

The project also introduced four new stations — Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang — linking communities along the route.

The new line extends connectivity from Bairabi on the Assam–Mizoram border to Sairang, just 20 km from Aizawl, connecting the state capital directly with India’s railway network for the first time.

With this, Aizawl has become the fourth northeastern capital to have direct railway connectivity, after Guwahati, Agartala and Itanagar.

The Prime Minister also flagged off three new long-distance trains, the Sairang–Delhi Rajdhani Express, the Sairang–Guwahati Express and the Sairang–Kolkata Express.

According to Indian Railways, the inaugural Rajdhani departed from Sairang at 10 am on Saturday and is scheduled to reach Anand Vihar Terminal on September 15.

Regular services will see the train leave Sairang every Friday evening and return from Delhi every Sunday night.

The Guwahati Express will run daily starting September 13, departing from Guwahati at 7 pm and from Sairang at 7 pm the following day. The Kolkata Express will operate three times a week, leaving Kolkata every Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday and returning from Sairang every Monday, Thursday and Friday.

The Prime Minister’s Office said the railway line would provide “safe, efficient and cost-effective travel options,” while also ensuring timely supplies of essentials like food grains and fertilisers, as reported by news agency PTI.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw underlined that the project had to overcome “Himalayan geology and complex terrain,” adding that engineers even had to turn loose sand into rock formations before tunnelling could begin.

Along with the railway project, the Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for infrastructure works worth over Rs 9,000 crore. These include the 45 km Aizawl Bypass Road under PM-DevINE, the Thenzawl–Sialsuk Road and the Khankawn–Rongura Road under NESIDS, aimed at improving connectivity and providing better access for farmers and traders.

The Thenzawl–Sialsuk Road is expected to benefit horticulture farmers, dragon fruit growers, paddy cultivators and ginger processors, while the Khankawn–Rongura Road will support market access and a proposed ginger processing unit, PTI reported.

The Prime Minister also launched projects such as the Chhimtuipui bridge, which will provide all-weather connectivity and boost cross-border commerce under the Kaladan Multimodal Transit framework.

Other projects include an LPG bottling plant at Mualkhang, new sports facilities and residential schools under PMJVK and the Eklavya Model scheme.

Officials said the Bairabi–Sairang railway is expected to transform logistics and tourism, reduce travel time and generate new jobs.

“This project has been constructed under great challenges,” Vaishnaw said, adding that it was a major step in implementing the government’s Act East Policy.