Sikkim hopes to get rail connectivity by 2023
An official of the Indian Railway Construction Company, which is implementing the project, said that 30 percent of the work has been completed.
An official said Sikkim is expected to get rail connectivity with the rest of India by 2023 as the 44.98-km-long Sevak-Rangpo railway line will be operational within two years.
After visiting the project site at Sevoke, about 20 km from Siliguri in West Bengal, Anshul Gupta, general manager of North-East Frontier Railway, said, “Sevoke-Rangpo rail line will be operational from 2023.” “Despite the difficult terrain, land-related hiccups and very difficult land level, the project will be completed in 2023.”
The then Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee had laid the foundation stone for this project in 2009 and the project was to be completed by 2015.
Railway officials said that the Prime Minister’s Office and the Railway Board have set a target of completing the project by December 2023.
An official of the Indian Railway Construction Company, which is implementing the project, said that 30 per cent of the work has been completed.
The line connecting West Bengal and Sikkim was estimated to be completed at a cost of Rs 1,339.48 crore. But due to delay in construction, the cost has exceeded Rs 5,000 crore.
The 41.54 km railway line falls in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, while the remaining part of about 3.44 km will pass through Sikkim.
The project consists of 14 tunnels, 17 bridges and five stations, including one at Teesta in Kalimpong district, which will be underground. At least 86% of the route will pass through 14 tunnels, of which 13 are in West Bengal.
Sikkim hopes to get rail connectivity by 2023
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by News East India staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Also Read:- People hit by Himalayan black bears in East Sikkim : Report 6 Nov 2021
