GANGTOK: Soon, you can take a train to Sikkim. Three decades after the people of Sikkim voted to join the Indian Union, the Central government plans to link the mountainous state with the country's railway network through a 52.7-km broadgauge track.
The only way to reach Gangtok at present is a bumpy, five-hour jeep ride from Siliguri. But it appears the Centre can no longer ignore Sikkim as a vacation hot spot and a gateway for crucial trade links with China via Nathu La.
The railway track will run from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo, the gateway to Sikkim, drastically cutting down travelling time to different parts of the state. When the rail link becomes operational, a visitor to Gangtok can look forward to a smooth - and short - one-and-a-half hour drive from Rangpo.
Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu disclosed the Centre's plan in Gangtok on Thursday.
Velu, on a two-day visit to the state, said the North-East Frontier Railway had almost completed the survey to extend the rail link to Rangpo and the report would be submitted soon.
This proves how serious the Centre was about the rail link, he pointed out. The project cost has been pegged at Rs 1334.74 crore. It will be included in the next rail budget after the Cabinet committee clears it, Velu said.
It was Governor V Rama Rao who recently raised the demand to link Sikkim with the rest of the country through a railway line. The Sikkim government wants the rail tracks to extend right up to Gangtok.
Velu said the railways would consider the proposal
The only way to reach Gangtok at present is a bumpy, five-hour jeep ride from Siliguri. But it appears the Centre can no longer ignore Sikkim as a vacation hot spot and a gateway for crucial trade links with China via Nathu La.
The railway track will run from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo, the gateway to Sikkim, drastically cutting down travelling time to different parts of the state. When the rail link becomes operational, a visitor to Gangtok can look forward to a smooth - and short - one-and-a-half hour drive from Rangpo.
Union Minister of State for Railways R Velu disclosed the Centre's plan in Gangtok on Thursday.
Velu, on a two-day visit to the state, said the North-East Frontier Railway had almost completed the survey to extend the rail link to Rangpo and the report would be submitted soon.
This proves how serious the Centre was about the rail link, he pointed out. The project cost has been pegged at Rs 1334.74 crore. It will be included in the next rail budget after the Cabinet committee clears it, Velu said.
It was Governor V Rama Rao who recently raised the demand to link Sikkim with the rest of the country through a railway line. The Sikkim government wants the rail tracks to extend right up to Gangtok.
Velu said the railways would consider the proposal
