The rail connectivity to Sikkim has now been fast tracked with the help of cutting-edge Austrian technology.
As per reports ,58% of the mining works for construction of around 14 main tunnels have been completed equipped with Austrian Techology..
Apart from this around 42% construction work has been completed on 13 major railway bridges on the 45 km Sivok-Rangpo new line project .
The foundation stone of this project was laid by the then Railway Minister at Sivok (West Bengal) on 30 October 2009 and at Rangpo (in Sikkim) by the then Vice President on the same day.
While Tourism being the prime revenue generating sector for Sikkim, it is aimed that enhancement of the railway connectivity in the Himalayan state of Sikkim will give a big boost to the tourism sector of the state.
According to reports , 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.
According to further reports , Five stations including Sivok and Rangpo are planned on the proposed railway line. Four stations are proposed to be open crossing stations – Sivok, Riyang, Melli and Rangpo and one underground halt station at Teesta Bazar.
The tunnelling is constructed by the latest technique called NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method).
