In another major step towards completion of the Dimapur-Kohima new rail project, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) recently achieved a major milestone in the third phase of the project by achieving a breakthrough in tunnel no. 15 between Menguzuma and Zubza stations, measuring 160 metre recently.
Stating this in a press release, NFR chief public relations officer (CPRO) Sabyasachi De claimed that the breakthrough achieved on June 15 was considered a major step towards connecting Kohima with rest of the nation through the Indian Railways network.
The 82.50-km Dimapur-Kohima new railway line project that takes off from Dhansiri station in Assam to Zubza adjacent to Kohima is being implemented by NFR Construction Organisation at a cost of Rs 6,663 crore. Of the total length of the project, 2.75 km was in Assam and 79.75 Km in Nagaland.
With eight new stations, viz, Dhansiri, Dhansiripar, Shokhuvi, Molvom, Pherima, Piphema, Menguzuma and Zubza, the project has 24 major bridges, 156 minor bridges, six road overbridges, 15 road under-bridges and 21 tunnels of 31-km length. Tunnel no. 7 between Pherima to Piphema 6,520 metre will be the longest tunnel in this section.
The project has been divided into three phases for ease of commissioning. The first phase of 16.5 km from Dhansiri to Shokhuvi had already been completed in October 2021. 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-eastern States.
The CPRO said the next phase from Shokhuvi to Pherima was likely to be completed very soon and the complete project up to Zubza was targeted to be completed by 2026.
He declared that the new rail connectivity project when completed would help in transportation of food grains, automobiles and other infrastructure and construction items to Nagaland at a much cheaper rate from other parts of the country, benefitting local people. He claimed that economy of the State would receive a major boost.
De mentioned that Indian Railways was significantly contributing towards transformation of the North-eastern States by executing several new railway line projects. Constructing new railway lines to connect all the State capitals of the North-eastern region was going on under capital connectivity projects and constructing of a new broad gauge railway line from Dimapur to Kohima was one such project, he added.