Sevoke-Rangpo project bringing Sikkim on railways map to be completed by 2024
Sikkim will get rail connectivity with the rest of India as the project continues to meet its 2024 deadline after several delays
The Sevoke-Rangpo railway project, which will bring Sikkim to the railway map of India, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, officials said on Monday.
BK Gupta, chairman and managing director of Ircon International Limited, the Centre-owned implementing company, said, “The revised project cost will touch ₹12,500 crore.”
Also Read:Sikkim expected to get rail connectivity by 2023: official
Gupta said the project cost has seen a nine-time escalation since the foundation stone was laid in 2009 by Mamata Banerjee, the then union railway minister.
The estimated project cost in 2009 was ₹1,339.48 crore.
The government initially planned to complete the project by 2015. The deadline was later pushed to December 2023 because making long tunnels through the mountains posed a challenge.
The 44.98 km long project has 14 tunnels, 17 bridges and five stations.
A stretch of 41.54 km is in Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal while the remaining 3.44 km is in Sikkim.
The 14 tunnels, of which 13 are in Bengal, will cover around 86% of the entire route.
As many as 10 workers have died in accidents during construction of these tunnels, officials said.
Rajinder Kumar, general manager of ABIR Infrastructure Pvt Limited which constructed the 1977-metre-long tunnel No 14, said “All civil work in the tunnel has been completed.”
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