The railways of Nagaland-past and present

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In August 2022, the branch line from Dhansiri (in Assam) to Sukhovi (in Nagaland) was inaugurated. The Donyi Polo Express from Naharalagun (Arunachal) to Guwhati via Rangiya was extended to Dhansiri and Sukhovi, thereby linking Arunachal with Nagaland. The PR staff announced that Sukhovi was the first station in Nagaland, which was not correct.

The first stations in Nagaland were Rangapahar, Rangapahar Crossing and Dimapur on the main line from Lumding to Tinsukia. Dimapur started off as Manipur Road, then Dimapur Manipur Road in the 1970s and now Dimapur. The road from Dimapur to Imphal passed through Kohima in Nagaland.

Note that these signboards strictly follow the formula in other states-local language followed by English followed by Hindi. The local language is English.

The next station in Nagaland was Naginimora, on a branch from Simaluguri Jn in Assam. MG passenger trains were running on this route until at least 1994, but it closed soon afterward. Naginimora station was just over the border in Nagaland.

Then there was the short-lived MG line from Amguri Jn to Tuli. This was meant to serve a paper mill near Tuli, though it closed down after some years. It was planned to extend the line to Tuli Town.

However the MG line from Amguri to Tuli was converted to BG. There is no passenger service, though a small number of goods trains run for departmental use.

This is supposed to be the newly constructed BG station at Tuli.

And finally to the new line from Dhansiri to Shokhuvi. There is an intermediate station called Dhansiripar in Nagaland.

This line has a long way to go towards Zubza which will be the station for Kohima.

3 thoughts on “The railways of Nagaland-past and present”

  1. Thank you for sharing this information. You are absolutely right that it was indeed not the second railway station to be opened. In fact, apart from Rangapathar, Dhansiripar is also in Nagaland and while Dhansiri is in Assam.

    Also, thank you for highlighting Tuli and Naginimora stations.

    Kudos for finding the picture of Tuli station. I too tried to look for that but I couldn’t find it. I want to highlight that some goods train have restarted till Tuli Station recently. There are videos of that were posted just six months ago on YouTube. Here is the link for one of that: https://youtu.be/nlnFrnJlWjA

    I request you to post photo of Naginimora station if you have that.

    Lastly, my question is that Google Maps show that Tuli and Bhalukpong stations are in both in Assam but Bhalukpong town is shown in Arunachal Pradesh and Tuli Town is in Nagaland. Are maps right or the location has more to do with historic and political reasons?

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    • You can also see Indiarainfo site. That shows Bhalukpong in Arunachal. And the station sign does not have Assamese.
      I got the picture of Tuli station from the net but am doubtful if it is authentic. It does not look like a normal station.
      I have tried to find a picture of Naginimora station on the net but could not. Maybe because it closed over 20 years ago.
      Sometimes the town and the station are in different states (and sometimes even different countries). Indiarailinfo shows Tuli station in Nagaland. Gadra Road station is in Rajasthan although Gadra is about 20 km away in Pakistan.

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      • Thanks for the clarification. Great observation about location of Bhalukpong as Assamese language is not present on station board.

        You are right about purpose of such stations. Naginimora station was built to carry coal from nearby coal mines. Tuli station was to carry products from Paper mill located in Tuli Station. Similarly, station like Lekhapani was closed after nearby colliery was closed.

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