President flags off Meghalaya- Nagaland direct train service

President Droupadi Murmu flagged off the first train service linking Meghalaya with Nagaland via Assam. She flagged off the inaugural run of the existing Guwahati-Lumding-Guwahati Express, which had been extended up to Shokhuvi in Nagaland in one end and up to Mendipathar in Meghalaya on the other.
Murmu launched the train service virtually from Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati in presence of Assam and Nagaland governor Prof Jagdish Mukhi, Assam chief minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Rameswar Teli and a host of ministers from Assam and other dignitaries, including Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) general manager Anshul Gupta.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said she was pleased to inaugurate the train service and thanked Union Minister for Railways, Communications and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and his entire team for their sincere efforts in further augmenting rail connectivity in the Northeast.
This is the first direct passenger train service connecting Meghalaya and Nagaland and will boost the interstate connectivity, fulfilling a long-pending demand of the people of both the States. Mendipathar is the only railway station in Meghalaya having passenger train operations, while Shokhuvi is the second railway station in Nagaland to get train connectivity after a gap of more than 100 years. The first direct passenger train connecting Nagaland with Arunachal Pradesh was started on August 26 this year by NFR.
The extended service of Guwahati-Lumding up to Shokhuvi would be the second passenger train connecting Shokhuvi. This was stated in a press release by NFR chief public relations officer Sabyasachi De.
He said foundation stone of a modern cargo-cum-coaching terminal at Agthori station would facilitate traders with regular supply of perishable and white goods for the North-eastern region. The terminal would have world class standards facilities and infrastructure like parcel office, labour rest room, circulating area and enough space for inward and outward movement of trucks, he added.
According to De, the commencement of train service and foundation for the cargo terminal was a major step towards improving connectivity and facilitating development of all the North-eastern States. These would lead to easy movement of passengers and material throughout India and bring more employment opportunities for the people of the region, he claimed.