Gangtok, June 28: Sikkim is set to get rail
connectivity as a new project will link Rangpo in the eastern
part of the state to Sevoke in West Bengal, Minister of State
for Railways R Velu said here on Thursday.
A feasibility report on the rail link is ready to be
submitted to the railway board, Velu told reporters here after
a meeting with state Transport Minister Menlom Lepcha and
officials.
The estimated cost of the project, which entails laying
tracks between Sevoke near Siliguri in West Bengal to Rangpo,
will be Rs 1334.70 crore.
A survey on extending the link from Rangpo to Gangtok was
also in the pipeline.
"But that will be the second stage. Our priority now is
to take the Sevoke-Rangpo rail link to its logical
conclusion," Velu said.
Asked how long it will take for work to start on the
project, he said the process of getting clearances from the
railway board and the planning commission usually takes about
a year.
The central government is anxious to give connectivity to
all states in the northeast including Sikkim, he said.
Velu will also visit Thegu and Nathula during his
three-day trip to Sikkim to explore the possibility of setting
up passenger reservation offices there.
With only one highway linking it to the rest of the
country, Sikkim had been demanding rail connectivity since its
merger with the Indian union in 1975.
Bureau Report