Guwahati, Dec 27 For the first time in Indian Railways, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has embarked upon a novel initiative for maintenance of electrification infrastructure, including Overhead Equipment's and Power Supply Installation by collaborating with IRCON, officials said on Thursday.
NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, said that NFR General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava and IRCON International Limited Chief Managing Director H. M. Gupta signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday.
He added that the MoU would provide maintenance of Overhead Equipment (OHE) and Power Supply Installation (PSI) in the Lumding and Tinsukia divisions of the NFR.
The CPRO said that electrification works of the Lumding and Tinsukia divisions are progressing at a rapid pace with most of the sections already electrified and the balance of 425 RKM set to be commissioned by June next year.
Due to the rapid commissioning of the sections, maintenance of electrification works has grown manifold which needs trained and experienced railway personnel for scheduled maintenance and breakdown attention as electric traction is directly related to train operations, Sharma added.
He said electrification work in NFR is at a new stage and railway authorities have decided to rope in IRCON for the maintenance and breakdown attention of the sections for a period of two years as a contract addition which marks an exemplary step towards systemic maintenance.
According to the officials, the MoU would serve as a platform for NFR to engage in knowledge exchange and access the latest technologies and expertise in the management of electrification infrastructure.
IRCON is a reputed organisation well known for undertaking challenging infrastructure projects, especially in difficult terrains in India and abroad since 1976, the CPRO said.
The NFR operates in the northeastern states and in seven districts of West Bengal and five districts of north Bihar with more than 6,400 Km of tracks within its jurisdiction.
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