The 17, 500-Km Trans-Asian Railway to give Assam and Manipur a miss

#UNESCAP #silkroad It has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 5 February 2015 that the proposed 17,500-Km long Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) network promoted by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) would give Assam and Manipur a miss.
The policy makers plan to keep these two states out of the principal route of the TAR which would be passing through 28 member countries – it has been described by UNESCAP as "Yesterday's Silk Road" and is being made to promote trade and cultural exchanges not just within Asia but also between Asia and Europe.
The idea was born way back in 1992 against the backdrop of political and economic changes in the region. The network would be fully operational once the construction of the missing links between countries and connecting the existing tracks within the member countries is complete.
As per the current plan, the east-west corridor would traverse through India. It would start from the easternmost part in Istanbul in Turkey and proceed through Iran till it reaches the Afghanistan border. From there the missing link will be constructed to connect Islamabad. The existing tracks from Islamabad to New Delhi will be a part of the network, which travels eastwards to Kolkata and Dhaka.
It is understood that the current UNESCAP plan is not final and there could be modifications but, the fact is that TAR is very much on the cards. It is 23 years since the idea was mooted – and, could wait another 23 years for becoming operational.