Nagaland to get another railway station next year, says CM

KOHIMA — Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday said that the Molvom railway station under Chumoukedima district along the Dimapur (Dhansiri)-Kohima (Zubza) Railway line will be opened by next year.

Once operational, Molvom railway station will be the third one in the state after the Dimapur railway station and the one at Sukhovi, which was opened in August last year.

Speaking on the second day of the ongoing monsoon session of the 14th Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA), Rio, however, said it will take time to construct the railway line till Zubza due to land issues (particularly of tunnels).

He pointed out that the Dimapur (Dhansiri)-Kohima (Zubza) railway line has been “approved” and the “survey is on” to go beyond Kohima, that is, to Mao, Senapati, Kangkokpi, Imphal, Moreh and towards the South East Asian countries.

The National Highway-39 is one of the South East Asia highways and the government would pursue that the railway line reaches that side, he asserted.

Rio said that the Kohima railway line through Manipur was “sabotaged” during the UPA-I and II government and diverted to Arunachal Pradesh. But after the NDA government came into power, the Nagaland government pursued it, and that’s how the railway line to Kohima started.

He also added that Sukhovi railway station is doing good business since it was opened more than a year ago.

The chief minister was supplementing on a query raised by MLA Nuklutoshi Longkumer on Tuli railway station status and the 10th mile railway station in Tuli.

Providing an update on the Tuli railway station, Minister P Paiwang Konyak said it had given passenger services from December 2002 till July 2007 but was withdrawn due to poor patronisation and fewer passengers. Currently, the status remains the same and the station is open for handling of outward goods traffic, he added.

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