New line to bring Kohima on railway map by 2020

Suresh Prabhu lays foundation stone of 88-km rail line that will provide Nagaland's capital with direct rail connectivity

As part of Indian Railways' ambitious plan to connect capitals of all north-eastern states by broad gauge rail link, railway minister Suresh Prabhu today laid the foundation stone of 88-km rail line to bring Kohima, the capital of Naglaland, on the railway map of India.
 
The capitals of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura have already been connected with broad gauge line and projects are under various stages of progress to connect four other capitals of Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim.
 
The project will be executed in three phases. The first phase involves construction of Dhansiri to Sukhovi (16km) line, the second phase involves Sukhovi to Khaibong (30 km) and the third phase involves Khaibong to Zubza (45 km). While the first phase of the project is targeted for completion by December 2018, the second and third phases are targeted for completion by December 2019 and March 2020 respectively.

 

Rs 350 crore has been allotted for financial year 2016-17 for the project.  The total sanctioned cost of the project is Rs 2,315 crore.
 
Prabhu said in line with the vision of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Indian Railways has drawn up several developmental plans for the Northeastern region. The railway ministry has decided to make the planning process for projects participatory having scope for people’s participation in the form of suggestions etc. For this an IT enabled platform has been designed which will make people’s participation easy and the process transparent. All stakeholders would be able to participate in the planning process and monitor progress of the projects, he said.

 
Governor of Nagaland, PB Acharya, minister of state for railways, Rajen Gohain, chief minister of Nagaland T R Zeliang, general manager of Northeast Frontier Railway, Chahatey Ram, were present in the function held at the Dimapur railway. Dimapur is the only railway station in Nagaland and is on the Guwahati-Dibrugarh rail section.
 
Prabhu said since the region was culturally rich, instructions had been issued to design all future railway stations reflecting the local culture and heritage of the region. He also said that the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would be advised to explore possibility of marketing the handloom and handicraft products of the state.

 
This project was sanctioned by Railway Board in 2007-08. Considering its importance, it was declared a National Project in 2007. The new line will take off from the existing railhead at Dhansiri railway station, 19 Km from Dimapur, and reach Zubza which is 16 Km short of Kohima.