Union railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (in a traditional Naga attire) flanked by MoS Railway Rajen Gohain, Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang and state governor PB Acharya at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Dimapur-Kohima railway line at Dhansiri on Monday. (Source: NF Railway). Union railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (in a traditional Naga attire) flanked by MoS Railway Rajen Gohain, Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang and state governor PB Acharya at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the Dimapur-Kohima railway line at Dhansiri on Monday. (Source: NF Railway).

Union railway minister Suresh Pabhakara Prabhu on Monday laid the foundation stone for construction of an 88-km railway line from Dimapur to Kohima, with the Nagaland capital becoming the last of the Northeastern state capitals to be included in the national railway map.

“This project is in line with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to connect every state capital in the Northeast by railways and boost overall development of the region. Projects to connect the capitals of Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur and Sikkim are already in various stages of progress, and it was only on Sunday that a direct train from Agartala to the national capital was flagged off,” Prabhu, laying the foundation stone at Dhansiri near Dimapur in Nagaland said.

The railway minister said that while the new railway line, when completed would usher in a new era of development in Nagaland that would include tourism, agricultural marketing and cheaper movement of goods. “With all the state capitals getting connected, the Northeast would be the fastest growing region in the country in terms of economic growth,” he said. Prabhu also said that the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) would be advised to explore the possibility of marketing the handloom and handicraft products of Nagaland.

The 88-km Dimapur-Zubza (Kohima) broad gauge line – a national 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 (in Karbi Anglong district of Assam), 19 km short of Dimapur, and culminate at Zubza, which is 16 km short of Kohima.

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Speaking on the occasion, Nagaland chief minister TR Zeliang asked the railway minister to also expedite the long-pending Dimapur-Tizit project and requested him to push through this project in the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. He also requested the railway minister to re-examine the abandoned Dhansiri-Karong railway project. Zeliang also called for upgradation of facilities in Dimapur, the only railhead of the hill state and introduce a direct express train from Dimapur to Kolkata.

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