GUWAHATI:
The construction of a new broad gauge railway line from Dimapur to Kohima in Nagaland will be completed by 2026, a senior official of North East Frontier Railway said on March 28.
The 82.50 km long Dimapur-Kohima new railway line project which takes off from Dhansiri Railway Station of Assam to Zubza adjacent to Kohima is being undertaken by NF Railway (Construction Organization) at an anticipated cost of Rs 6,663 crore.
The total length of the project is 82.5 km (2.75 Km in Assam and 79.75 km in Nagaland) having eight new stations viz Dhansiri, Dhansiripar, Shokhuvi, Molvom, Pherima, Piphema, Menguzuma and Zubza.
The project includes 24 major bridges, 156 minor bridges, 6 road over bridges, 15 road under bridges and 21 tunnels of 31 km in length. Tunnel no 7 between Pherima to Piphema is the longest tunnel of this project which is of 6520-metre in length.
“The project is divided into 3 phases for ease of commissioning. The first phase of 16.5 km from Dhansiri to Shokhuvi has been already completed in October 2021,” the official said.
“The next phase from Shokhuvi to Pherima is likely to be completed very soon and the complete project up to Zubza is targeted to be completed by 2026,” he said.
Under the capital connectivity project, passenger train services from Shokhuvi to Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh and Mendipathar in Meghalaya have been introduced recently to enhance intra-regional rail connectivity to various North East states.
“Works on the project is going on in full swing. The new railway line would bring Nagaland’s capital city Kohima onto the broad gauge railway map of the country,” he further said.
“The new rail connectivity will also help in the transportation of food grains and other infrastructural items to the state at a much cheaper cost from other parts of the country benefitting local people. The economy of the state will receive a boost,” he added.