Pakyong, 5 April : The day is not far when Indian Railways will run on the India-China border also. Indian Railways is working on several projects to connect the Northeast with the country’s capital, one of them is the Sevoke (West Bengal) – Rangpo (Sikkim) Rangpo Project.
This is one of the most important and big projects of Indian Railways. As soon as it is built, Sikkim will also be connected to the country’s capital. Access to not only Sikkim but also the border areas adjacent to China like Nathula will become easier.
While this will provide an alternative route to the local people, it will also boost tourism in the area. Its construction will help in quickly delivering all the goods needed to the Indian Army deployed on the border. Till now 92 percent work of the project has been completed.
Sabyasachi Dey, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northeast Frontier Railway, said that Tunnel No. T-7 of Sevoke-Rangpo Railway Project (SRRP) located in Kalimpong district achieved break through a few days ago. A specialty of this route is that Teesta Bazar Station, the first underground railway station under the Indian Railways network, is in this tunnel. The main tunnel extends for 3082 metres, along with an approach tunnel. The cave extends for 650 metres, with a single platform as part of its design. The extensive cavern, with a total audit length of 800 meters with access, includes a network of 6 cross passages, demonstrating the sheer scale of the project. Every facility for safety and comfort of passengers has been taken care of.
He said that this tunnel located near Teesta passes through the sensitive and challenging geological and seismic conditions of the Younger Himalayas. The latest and most sophisticated tunneling technology i.e. New Austrian Tunnel Method (NATM) has been used here.
Dey said that this Sevoke-Rangpo New Rail Link Project connecting Sevoke (West Bengal) and Rangpo (Sikkim) is about 45 kilometers long. It includes 14 tunnels, 17 bridges and 5 stations. The length of the longest tunnel (T-10) is 5.3 km. And the length of the longest bridge (Bridge-17) is 425 meters. Approximately 38.64 km of the entire project alignment is passing through the tunnel. 92.31 percent tunneling work has been completed.
It is one of the most prestigious national projects underway in India and upon completion of this project, Sikkim will be connected to the State Railways for the first time. Will reach Sikkim from Bengal in two hours. Its objective is to provide alternative connectivity to the state of Sikkim. This will give a huge boost to tourism in Sikkim. With this, all the goods needed by the Indian Army deployed on the border can be quickly delivered.
