The Union Cabinet on Saturday (February 14) approved a major Rs 18,662‑crore infrastructure project in Assam to build a underwater twin-tube road-cum-rail tunnel, between Gohpur and Numaligarh, featuring India’s first combined road and rail subaquatic passage, integrating a four-lane highway with a dedicated railway line beneath the Brahmaputra River. The tunnel will slash the travel distance from 240 km to just 34 km and reducing journey time from six hours to 20 minutes. Moreover, beyond it's infrastructural impact it will also provide strategic linkages in the Northeast region.

The construction of the project is expected to be completed in five years.

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Forming part of a 4-lane access-controlled greenfield corridor between Gohpur (NH-15) and Numaligarh (NH-715), the 15.79‑km twin‑tube tunnel will be part of the 33.7‑km corridor, with two traffic lanes in each direction and a provision for railway infrastructure.

The design prioritises safety by including emergency interconnecting passages every 500 meters between the two tubes.

India’s first underwater twin-tube Road-cum-Rail tunnel in Assam (Image: Ministry of Railways)

The project will be executed under the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) mode. Once completed, it will become India’s first underwater road-cum-rail tunnel and the second such tunnel in the world.

“The project alignment integrates with 02 major National Highways (NH-15 and NH-715) and 02 Railway lines i.e. Rangia-Mukongselek Railway Section under Rangia Division of NFR on Gohpur Side and Furkating-Mariani loop line section under Tinsukia Division of NFR on Numaligarh side. The project providing seamless connectivity to key economic, social, and logistics nodes across Assam,” the Ministry of Railways said.

India’s first underwater twin-tube Road-cum-Rail tunnel in Assam (Image made using AI)

The facility’s strategic importance is heightened by China’s proximity, as the ELF on the Dibrugarh-Moran stretch of the national highway can accommodate frontline fighter jets and transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) during emergencies.

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