PRAGATI and Rail Infrastructure in Mizoram

Varun Adhikari
When I joined the Bairabi-Sairang railway project in 2015, it felt like stepping into a part of the country that rarely entered national focus. The journey itself told the story. National Highway-154, now NH-06, the only access route, was badly damaged and unreliable.Heavy trucks were often stranded for days, and bumpy travel became a routine part of site visits.
The surrounding hills were young, deeply weathered, and unstable, shaped by intense rainfall and constant slope movement. On paper, the project was historic, Mizoram's first railway connection to the national network cutting through mountains, steep gradients and deep gorges.
(To be contd)