DIMAPUR, JULY 31 : As reported earlier, union minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu would lay the foundation stone for the Dhansiri (Dimapur) – Zubza railroad on Monday at Dimapur railway station. The project was first sanctioned by the Railway Board as an 88-km long new broad gauge line in 2007-08.
Later, it was stretched to 90.50 km long after the alignment was modified to take the route from Dhansiri to Zubza through Sukhovi. The project was also declared as a National Project in 2007. On Sunday, the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) released some details about the project.
“The new line will take off from the existing rail head at Dhansiri railway station in Karbi Anglong district, 19 km short of Dimapur, and reach Zubza which is 16 km short of Kohima,” the NFR informed. Due to “very steep gradient” beyond Zubza, it stated, the railway line has been terminated short of Kohima, at Zubza.
The project would be executed in three separate phases. The first phase will cover construction 16 km stretch between Dhansiri and Sukhovi. The next phase would involve 30 km construction between Sukhovi and Khaibong. The final stretch would be between Khaibong and Zubza that covers a distance of 45 km.
“While the first phase of the project is targeted for completion by December 2018, the second phase is targeted for completion by December 2019 and the entire project by March 2020,” it informed.
SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PROJECT
| SN | Item | Scope |
| 1 | Length | 90.5 km |
| 2 | Tunnels | 9 nos. |
| 3 | Total length of tunnels | 21 km |
| 4 | Number of tall bridges | 5 nos. |
| 5 | Major bridges | 24 nos. |
| 6 | Minor bridges | 89 nos. |
| 7 | Total length of bridges | 4,438 km |
| 8 | New stations | 7 nos. |
| 9 | Ruling gradient | 1 in 80 |
| 10 | Number of stations | 8 nos. (Dhansiri, Dhansiripar, Sukhovi, Molvom, Khaibung, Chephema, Khabvuma, Zubza) |
| 11 | Total land required | 940.5 hectare |
