Rail connectivity to Sikkim fast tracked with Austrian technology

Rail Connectivity to Sikkim has been fast tracked and 58% mining work has been completed in 14 Main Tunnels which are being built with the latest Austrian technology. Besides 42% work has been completed on 13 major bridges that are coming up on the 45 km Sivok-Rangpo new line project.

The completion of the railway line will give a big boost to tourism and economic development in the region.

Out of the total length of 44.96 km, 38.65 km (86%) is in tunnels, 2.24 km (5%) in bridges and 4.79 km (9%) length in open cutting/filling of station yards. The proposed line consists of 14 tunnels with the longest tunnel of 5.30 km and the smallest tunnel covers 538 metres. Five stations including Sivok and Rangpo are planned on the proposed railway line. Four stations are proposed to be open crossing stations including Sivok, Riyang, Melli and Rangpo while there is one underground halt station at Teesta Bazar.

The tunnelling which is about 86% of the total length is constructed by the latest technique called NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method). The work of this project is supervised by international consultants so that the safety and quality is ensured. IRCON is taking all the measures so that there is minimum disturbance to the environment and forests.

The Ministry of Railways has been laying great emphasis on improvement in Railway infrastructure in the North-eastern region. North Eastern Region is served by Northeast Frontier Railway consisting of 8 states — Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya and Sikkim.

Out of 8 States of the North Eastern Region, rail network connectivity now exists in 7 States. The new line project Sivok-Rangpo (44 km) was sanctioned for Sikkim and the foundation stone of this project was laid at Rangpo by the then Railway Minister in October 2009 but in recent years the work has been speeded up.