Despite being the second highest revenue earner for the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), Dimapur railway station established since 1903, instead of taking its place of pride in the north east is instead getting relegated to a non-entity due to the step-motherly treatment by the NFR and the apathy of the state government.
Till the covid-19 Dimapur handled approximately around ten thousand passengers travelling to and fro. However, like all other stations which experienced some decrease since covid pandemic, the volume of passengers has come down to around 7000 to 8000 daily.
The volume of passengers should have obviously meant that adequate trains should be provided for passengers but instead, NFR appears to be least bothered. Out of nearly 40-plus long-distance trains from Dibrugarh to Guwahati passing through Dimapur, strangely not a single train originates at Dimapur.
The ministry of railways had introduced several trains to Dimapur such as the Jan Shatabdi in 1996 under the scheme for connecting all state capitals. However, the Jan Shatabdi was gradually extended to Furkating then Jorhat by 1998. In 1998 the BG Express was introduced between Guwahati-Dimapur and by 2021 it was moved to Mariani.
Also, in 2011 the Nagaland Express was introduced at Dimapur but it too was moved to Ledo under the plea of Covid-19 pandemic during 2021.
With a several hundred passengers boarding the trains at Dimapur, it was expected that the stoppage time should be at least 10 minutes but in fact on an average the stoppage time for Jan Shatabdi in 2 minutes.
Next the proposal for redevelopment and modernisation of Dimapur railway station into a world class station with an allocated budget of Rs.283 crore is likely not going to happen. The NFR, grappling with land encroachment, has been making meek pleas to the state government over this matter. On its part, the government of Nagaland has not bothered to take the matter seriously. Now that land is urgently required for redevelopment, it is too much at too little a time.
That also means the fund of Rs.283 crore could eventually be diverted to other stations in Assam, if the past is any indication.
Dimapur railway station requires a double railway track to allow trains to move in both directions and reduce mandatory stops for slower trains. However, due to land encroachment, the laying of a double-track through Dimapur is not possible.
It was learnt that there were currently 91 encroachers in the vicinity of Dimapur railway station necessitating a comprehensive survey to resolve the issue.
It has been pointed out that around 30 Hectares out of around 50 Hectares of NFR land at Dimapur are under unauthorised occupation for several decades. A good number occupy railway land in Dimapur since early 60s and subsequently given lease for use as godown. Over the decades the lessees managed to obtain land ownership document from the district administration. The NFR authorities when asked about this, told this Reporter that they have been raising the matter but the state government has been dragging its feet.
The fate of Dimapur railway station as the will be like a feeder station for Dhansiri station or Bokajan but the state government appears to have given up as it looks more favourably at the 16.5 km railway line from Dhansiri to Shokhuvi at Chümoukedima, which was commissioned in October 2021. The line is part of the Dimapur-Kohima rail project, which includes eight new stations.
Monday, July 7, 2025