Morung Express News
Dimapur | February 16
There was a flutter on social media today about a “train engine” arriving at the Dhansiripar railway station in Dimapur, Nagaland from the neighbouring Dhansiri railway station across the state border in Karbi Anglong, Assam.
While it was true that a train engine actually rolled up a little beyond Dhansiripar on newly laid track, railway officials however maintained that it was only a routine sortie and not the kickstarting of railway operations in the under-construction Dimapur-Zubza rail line.
One official said that it is routine for engineers to run train engines on newly laid tracks to “compact” the line. “We are linking (laying) tracks everyday.
We are planning to link up till Shoxuvi (station) in March,” said the official, while stating that currently, they have completed linking a little beyond Dhansiripar station. Meanwhile, it is literally an uphill task after Shoxuvi beyond which start the hills.
The hill segment would run an estimated 50km, while the plains segment from Dhansiri station (Karbi Anglong) to Shoxuvi runs an estimated 30km. The Dimapur-Zubza line will have 20 tunnels and 19 major bridges, the longest of which, sited near Sirhima village, will span 700m.
