Guwahati, Mar 28 (IANS): As part of its bid to connect all capital cities of northeast by rail, the Northeast Frontier Railways is hopeful that Nagaland's capital city Kohima is connected by train in 2026.

NF Railways CPRO Sabysachi De on Tuesday asserted that the construction work has been going on in full swing and they are fully confident to complete the project within the deadline.

He said that the 82.50-km-long Dimapur-Kohima rail project has been undertaken at an anticipated cost of Rs 6,663 crore. The railway line has eight new stations - Dhansiri, Dhansiripar, Shokhuvi, Molvom, Pherima, Piphema, Menguzuma and Zubza, which is near Kohima.

"The project includes 24 major bridges and 156 minor bridges. It also has 21 tunnels of a total 31 km length. The tunnel between Pherima to Piphema is the longest of this project which is of 6.5 km length," De added.

The project was divided into three phases and the first phase of 16.5 km from Dhansiri to Shokhuvi was already completed in October 2021. Passenger train services from Shokhuvi to Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh and Mendipathar in Meghalaya have been introduced recently.

"The next phase from Shokhuvi to Pherima is likely to be completed very soon and the complete project up to Kohima is targeted to be completed by 2026," the CPRO said.