(Left) Workers broke through the western end of the first tunnel (80m) of the Dhansiri-Zubza rail line on June 7. (Morung Photo) (Right) A drilling rig at work inside the Dhansiri-Zubza rail line’s third tunnel located near Jharnapani on June 7. When complete the tunnel will span 824m. (Morung Photo by Manen Aier)
• First tunnel breakthrough of the Dhansiri-Zubza rail line
• Trains till Shoxuvi by Dec 2019?
Morung Express News
Dimapur | June 7
Nagaland state can now officially claim to have an artificial tunnel in its turf. The Dhansiri-Zubza rail line witnessed the first tunnel breakthrough on June 7, roughly three years after the foundation stone for the project was laid in August 2016 by the then Union Railway Minister.
The tunnel measured 80m in length and is located on the southern outskirts of Chumoükedima village some 20 minutes drive from NH 29.
The Northeast Frontier Railway’s Deputy Chief Engineer of the project V. Hauzel told media persons at the site that the tunneling started in March this year. Workers made the breakthrough around 11:00 am today.
While it was by all means a significant achievement, the tunnel is only the first of twenty (26km in total) that will link up the broad gauge line as it snakes up the hills from Shoxuvi. The longest in the chain of tunnels measures 6.4km located in Chephema.
It also includes 19 major bridges, the longest of which, sited near Sirhima village, will span 700m.
According to Hauzel, tunneling is going on simultaneously in other sites. Drilling in the third tunnel, near Jharnapani, was on as on June 7 after work started in March. He said that it would likely take one and a half years of drilling to complete the 824m tunnel.
The line - Dhansiri-Dhansiripar-Shoxuvi-Molvom-Khaibong-Chephema-Khabvuma-Zubza - will measure 82km in total culminating 16km short of Kohima. The final railhead in Zubza will sit at an elevation of 900m above sea level.
Around 30km of the total distance falls in the plain segments with roughly 3km of it falling in Karbi Anglong, Assam before it enters Nagaland through the Dhansiripar sub-division of Dimapur district.
As per a project brochure released by the NFR in the lead up to the foundation stone laying ceremony in 2016, the project was planned to be executed in 3 phases – Dhansiri-Shoxuvi (phase 1), Shoxuvi-Khaibong (phase 2) and Khaibong-Zubza (phase 3).
December 2018 was set as the completion time for phase 1, December 2019 for phase 2 and phase 3 by March 2020.
As per the latest update, earth-cutting and tunneling in the Dhansiri-Shoxuvi segment has a tentative completion dateline of December 2019. “We are planning to roll trains atleast till Shoxuvi by December this year,” said Hauzel. He added that phase 2 is scheduled to be completed by 2020.
Excluding localised disputes over land ownership in certain segments, he cited the monsoon and earthquakes in a known seismically active region as great challenges to the time bound completion of the project.
Weak soil, comprising mostly shale and clay, and exposed to rain is also posing a great challenge to tunneling. “The soil is not strong, it is mostly mud soil and sometimes we encounter aquifers,” said Hauzel, while adding that there is also the likelihood of encountering methane pockets putting at risk the workers.
