90KM NEW RAIL LINE FROM DIMAPUR TO KOHIMA, NAGALAND

Client
NF Rail Dimapur

Location
Dimapur & Kohima

Service CategoryTopograpgy, Geotechnical SectorRailway Engineering

The new line will take off from the existing rail head at Dhansiri railway station in Karbi Anglong district, 19km short of Dimapur, and reach Zubza which is 16km short of Kohima. This railway line would bring the capital city of Kohima onto the broad gauge railway map of the country, as part of Indian Railways' ambitious plan to connect capitals of all north-eastern states by broad gauge rail link. BPC India has taken up Geotechnical Investigation for the railway structures.

Proposed Dimapur (Dhansiri)-Kohima (Zubza) new BG line project is a part of long-awaited 90.50km Dhansiri (Dimapur)-Zubza (Kohima) new BG line project. This prestigious project would be executed in three phases. Phase-I involves construction of Dhansiri -Sukhovi (16km) section, phase-II involves Sukhovi-Khaibong (30km) section and final phase involves Khaibong-Zubza (45km) section.

According to the Indian Railways, as per earlier plan, the Dimapur-Zubza (Kohima) new BG line was planned as an 88-km long project in 2007-08. However, later the alignment was modified for the construction of the line from Dhansiri-Zubza via Sukhovi, making it 90.50-km long.

M/S BPC Consultant India Pvt. Ltd. was entrusted by N.F Railway, Nagaland to conduct plate load test and geo-technical investigation at major, minor, ROB & RUB bridges as well as at various structures location to find out bearing capacity of soil in between chainage 18 Km to 90 Km in connection with construction of New BG Railway line from Dimapur (Dhansiri)-Kohima(Zubza).

The new BG line will take off from the existing Rail line at Dhansiri Railway station in Karbi Anglong District, 19-km short of Dimapur and would reach Zubza, which is 16-km short of Kohima. Construction of this railways line would bring the capital city of Kohima into Broad Gauge Railways Map of India.

This strategic bridge will abridge the state of Assam and Meghalaya with the rest of the nation reducing detouring road distance by about 250 kms from Dhubri to Phulbari. The overall objectives of the exploration were to study and evaluate the stratigraphy of the said project locations and to obtain Geotechnical parameters of the subsurface formations for design and construction of foundation for the proposed 20 km length two/four lane Bridge including approaches over the River Brahmaputra Between Dhubri (North Bank) and Phulbari (South Bank) in state of Assam/Meghalaya on NH-127B

Due to very steep gradient beyond Zubza, the Indian Railways decided to be terminated here, short of Kohima. This new line will have a speed of 100 kmph and will touch Dimapur and Kohima districts of Nagaland. It will promote tourism in the northeast states, including Sikkim, and would provide the infrastructure, which could create wealth in the region. Despite the abundance of rich natural beauty and resources, the state did not have proper connectivity. “Harping on the potentials of handloom, handicraft, agriculture, horticulture, and connectivity could bring vibrancy to the economy of the state.

SERVICES & SOLUTIONS

The tasks that are performed during the project work are as follows:

  • Exploratory drilling of Boreholes down to required depth, drilling of 150mm diameter boreholes in all type of soils except hard rock and large boulders, including refilling and reinstating surface, and disposing of surplus material including use of mechanical rigs with power operated winches as well as percussion.
  • Conducting in situ full size Plate load test (PLT) at selected location as per IS: 1888 including making loading arrangements & casting of RCC/cast in situ concrete footing as per IS Code provisions including excavation and refilling of trial pit.
  • Taking out 100mm dia. & 450mm. long undisturbed samples of soil from bore holes, including provision of air tight containers for packing and, leveling and transporting the samples to laboratory. Piston sampler was used for extracting undisturbed samples where necessary following IS:2720.
  • Conducting standard penetration test as per IS 2131 at approximately 1.5 m intervals in bore holes.
  • During laboratory test of soil samples Moisture contents/ Dry density, Atterberg Limit, Specific Gravity, Grain size analysis, including Hydrometer analysis, Direct Shear Test, Natural density, Consolidation test, Unconfined compression test, and Tri-axial test were performed.
  • Conducting chemical analysis of ground water samples to determine suitability for concreting and aggressiveness in relation to attack on concrete / reinforcement including determination of pH value.
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