A 240 km railway line connecting two major group of islands, it will be connecting Port Blair with Diglipur on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The railway ministry is yet to approve the project, Andaman is currently linked by a 350-km bus service that takes over 14 hours and a ship that takes around 24 hours and there is no air connectivity.
The cost of the line will be Rs. 2,413.68 crore, but the ministry is set to approve this project owing to its “uniqueness and strategic importance.”
“As soon as the line is commissioned, tourism will see a jump from the current 4.5 lakh visitors a year to around 6 lakh a year, as per our estimates. So even though the railway survey shows a negative return, our assessment is otherwise. However, we have agreed to share the operational losses, if any,” Jagdish Mukhi, Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands said.
“These are just two of the main attractions. Lakhs of tourists take great pains to reach there from Port Blair every year. With the railway line in place, that part essentially becomes a part of the capital, beneficial to tourists, local residents and the defence forces,” said Mukhi.