All long distance trains across the country would be fitted with wireless communication systems by the end of this month, said railway minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
A wireless equipment would be in the engine, the guard coach and the accompanying security personnel as a security measure, Paswan told reporters here on Tuesday.
Besides, close circuit televisions would be introduced to check criminal activities in trains, he said.
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The Centre has earmarked Rs 300 crore for laying new rail tracks in the North-East during the current financial year, Paswan said. He, however, pointed out that the region lacked sufficient projects for utilisation of the available funds. Stating that the projects mainly included gauge conversion and laying of new lines, he said, Rs 15 crore had been allotted for the Bogibeel bridge. The completion target for the Naranarayan bridge is December.
An amount of Rs 10 crore each was allocated in the budget for the Kumarghat-Agartala (Tripura) and Harmoti-Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) broad gauge (BG) lines, and Rs 35-crore for the Jogighopa-Guwahati line.
Survey work was on for the Makum-Dangri broad gauge line, Dudhnoi-Deepa (Meghalaya), Mokokcheleng-Moirabari (Arunachal Pradesh), Diphu-Kareng (Manipur) and Rangia-Bhalukpung (Arunachal Pradesh) lines, he said.
The gauge conversion projects include Balipara-Mokokcheleng (Arunachal Pradesh), Rangapara north- Tezpur, Badarpur-Kumarghat, Lumding-Silchar, Silchar-Jiribam (all Assam], New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal)-Bongaigaon (Assam).
Survey work would be carried out for a Siliguri-Gangtok line and new lines would be laid between new Mainaguri-Mathbhanga, New Coochbehar-Jogighopa and Barpeta Road-Tihu.
With the inauguration of the computerised passenger reservation centre at Aizawl on May 22, he said, all the state capitals in the North-East would be covered under the railways computer network.