Sikkim could finally be added to India’s rail map by 2022, 13 years after project began

 

New Delhi: The long-delayed project of rail connectivity to Sikkim is likely to be completed by the end of 2022, officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway have said.

The foundation stone for the rail network was laid in 2009 when Mamata Banerjee was the railways minister but little work had been done.

 

Sikkim is the only Northeastern state which is not connected to a rail network. NH10 is the only road that connects the state with the rest of the country.

The new rail line will be from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim, a distance of 45 km. The tracks will cover 13 bridges and 14 tunnels, with stations in Rangpo, Ryang, Teestabazar and Melli. The rail project will cost Rs 1,339 crore, of which Rs 607 crore has already been sanctioned in the current fiscal.

The need for a railway line in Sikkim, which is situated near the India-China border, had gained momentum after the Doklam stand-off in 2017 and the recent clashes in Ladakh. Nathula in East Sikkim, which also borders China, is only 56 kilometres away from capital Gangtok.

 

Work on the broad-gauge railway line has been hit in the past few months owing to difficulties in transportation of labour and equipment due to the pandemic-induced lockdown. 

https://theprint.in