Bairabi–Sairang line

Bairabi–Sairang line
Overview
Status	Under construction
Owner	Indian Railways
Locale	Mizoram, India
Termini	Bairabi Sairang
Stations	4
Website	Indian Railway Website
History
Planned opening	March 2023 (Expected)
Technical
Line length	51.38 km (31.93 mi)
Number of tracks	Single diesel line
Track gauge	5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Electrification	No

The Bairabi–Sairang line is a railway line from Bairabi to Sairang. It is a part of Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways.

An estimated 28 hectares (69 acres) of land is required for the construction of 51 kilometres (32 mi) long Bairabi-Sairang rail line. The Bairabi-Sairang rail link will require construction of 130 bridges, 23 tunnels and four stations namely Hortoki, Kawnpui, Mualkhang and Sairang. The cost of construction from Bairabi to Sairang is estimated at INR 2384 crores, which was later revised at INR 5021.45 crores.

Further extension

South spur to Kyauktau railhead to Sittwe in Myanmar:

• In August 2015, Indian Railways completed a survey for a new route extension from Sairang to Hmawngbuchhuah on Mizoram's southern tip on the border of Myanmar where at nearby Zochachhuah, Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project (KMMTTP) road enters Myanmar.
• Future line development plan entails extending the line from Aizawl to south to Zochawchhuah (India) - Zorinpui (Myanmar) on the India-Myanmar border, from where it will then be extended to 90 km-long "Sittwe-Kyauktau railway" to connect it to Sittwe Port as part of Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project.
• "Zochawchhuah (Zorinpui)-Sairang railway" in India, survey for the 375 km line rail line from Sairang (Aizawl) to Hmawngbuchhuah on border near Zochawchhuah-Zorinpui was completed in August 2017 and it is currently under construction.
• "Kyauktau-Zorinpui railway line" is 200 km planned railway line which is under survey.

East spur to Kalemyo railhead in Myanmar:

• Future extension spur is from Aizawl to east to Zokhawthar. Future line development plan entails extending the line from Imphal to Moreh on the India-Myanmar border, from where it will then be extended to the existing railhead at Kalay (also called Kale and Kalemyo) in Myanmar to form part of the ambitious Trans-Asian Railway.
• Future phase would entail from the existing Kalemyo railhead to another existing Shwebo railhead for a shorter direct route to Mandalay, and beyond to existing and under-development routes by other nations to the North Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Nanning in China.

Current status

• Aug 2019: 65% work is complete, and the revised expected deadline is December 2021.
• Feb 2020: Railway Board Chairman inspected the 51.38 km long Bairabi-Sairang rail line project, which is nearing completion. The project was executed at a cost of INR 5,021.45 crore.

• Jul 2020: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused several delays in construction work, and due to lockdowns and lack of labour, the revised deadline of the rail line to Sairang, and the final extension till Mizoram's capital Aizawl, is likely to be completed by March 2023.