Sikkim train track work to start by year-end

Siliguri, May 20: The laying of tracks on the Sevoke-Rangpo route aimed to include Sikkim in the railway map will start at the end of this year, senior officials of the Northeast Frontier Railway have said.

The doubling of the tracks that connect north Bengal to the Northeast would also commence shortly, followed by laying of tracks between Chulsa and Naxal in the Dooars, the officials said.

“As of now, we are carrying out surveys and studies on the hill terrain through which the rail route would be built till Rangpo in Sikkim,” said S.P Singh, the deputy chief engineer (constructions) of the NFR posted in New Jalpaiguri (NJP).

“The data collected through such studies are being regularly sent to Delhi where the designing is being done to incorporate necessary alterations and changes. Also, as we have a section of forest cover and the presence of wildlife near Kalimpong, it is imperative that we obtain no-objection certificate from the Union ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) before the commencement of the construction.

“Given the present state of progress, it seems that we would be able to start laying the tracks by the end of this year.”

The project, launched by Mamata Banerjee as railway minister in 2009, is considered ambitious, given the nature of the terrain. She had also announced that the rail track would be extended to Gangtok from Rangpo and another route from Mirik too would connect the capital of Sikkim to the plains in Bengal. Mirik in Kurseong sub-division is around 50km from here.

“The surveys on both these routes (Rangpo-Gangtok and Mirik-Gangtok) are complete. We are waiting for the final nod and funds in the coming days to lay tracks on these routes,” Singh said.

On April 19, a high-level team of MoEF officials had visited Siliguri to see the proposed rail route to Rangpo and assess its impact on the hills and the environment as a whole.

The deputy chief engineer said a preliminary survey had been also carried out for the Chulsa-Naxal route in the Dooars. “It is a 16km stretch and the rail line would move into Naxal (not Naxalbari), a small hamlet on the Jaldhaka-Jhalong-Bindu route, from the main track that passes through the Dooars,” Singh said. “Here too, we need to have permission from the Union forest ministry and the state forest department to execute the project. A new station has been proposed at Metelli, near Chulsa in the Dooars.”
“The work of doubling tracks in the two stretches — Ambari-Falakata to New Mainaguri and New Cooch Behar to Samuktala Road — will, however, start as soon as railway land is available for laying the second track on these routes,” the NFR official said. “Around Rs 20 crore has been allotted for these projects.”

Singh also said the new broad gauge track between Siliguri Junction and Aluabari Road — a second alternative route between Islampur and Siliguri — is ready. “It was also formally inaugurated by the rail minister on May 17 and we expect to commission it by May 31,” he said.

Once commissioned, NFR sources said, the “railbus” (a single compartment train with an engine and capacity of around 70 people) will start running between Bagdogra and Siliguri Junction.

Sikkim chugs into country’s rail map

Rangpo/Sevoke, Oct. 30: Eighty-year-old Ratna Bahadur Rai wants to live for at least five more years. Reason: his half-a-century old aspiration to board a train from Sikkim to reach Siliguri.

As Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari today laid the foundation stone for a landmark railway project to connect Rangpo to Sevoke, Rai cheered along with thousands of others. The old man had trekked from Mazitar to the Mining Stadium Ground in Rangpo to witness the event which will for the first time place the Himalayan state on the railway map of India. The railway link is expected to be extended to Gangtok, around 40km from Rangpo, the town on the Sikkim-Bengal border.

“I huffed and puffed as I walked the hilly terrain, but I was determined to come to Rangpo. In the 50s, when I was a little more than 20 years old, I used to carry oranges, ginger and wool bought from Tibetan traders on bullock carts to reach Geillkhola near Kalimpong,” recollected Rai. “The goods were loaded on the little train that used to chug out of the station everyday to Siliguri. I had always wanted to board the train but could not as after some years, the service was discontinued because of landslide. It used to take 24 hours for a return journey from Geillkhola to Rangpo.”

Ansari, who considers the plan to connect Sikkim to the rest of the country by trains an engineering achievement, had a word of appreciation for the Indian Railways. “It was only recently that a train was flagged off in a similar hilly terrain in Jammu and Kashmir. The effort of the railway ministry is appreciable and we look forward for execution of this project which was a long-drawn aspiration of Sikkim residents.”

Sikkim chief minister Pawan Chamling, who was present at the event with governor Balmiki Prasad Singh, thanked the railways. “Today is a red letter day for Sikkim. So far, the sole means of communication was NH31A. It is good our state has now been included in the rail map and we look forward to see the route extended to Gangtok and trains leaving from our state capital in the coming years.”

Railway minister Mamata Banerjee announced in Hindi that two computerised passenger reservation centres would be set up in Rangpo and Gangtok in a month. Passing on necessary instruction to Northeast Frontier Railway officials on the stage, she said: “Introduction of railway services will not only improve communication but the economy of the region as a whole. It is a big project and we are determined to finish the first phase and then extend it up to Gangtok, unlike others who simply lay foundation stones and turn oblivious when it comes to execution.

“If we can lay railway tracks in Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, we can do the same in Sikkim. We have come here only after passing the work orders and allocating Rs 1,400 crore for it.”

The laying of foundation stone has not only brought communication hopes but fuelled job expectations as well.

Ajit Raphel, a second year student of ITI Rangpo, was seen sitting at the venue with a group of friends. “We are being technically trained and opening of rail route will definitely help us get more job opportunities,” he said.

Foundation stone laid in Rangpo, Mamata’s convoy rushed to Sevoke to lay another foundation stone for the same project. She announced an award of Rs 10 lakh for the NFR for performing well.

Pic: Sikkim Rail Foundation Stone at Rangpo

The foundation stone for a railway link from Sevoke near Siliguri to Rangpo, a town on the Bengal-Sikkim border, was laid on Friday. The project will put Sikkim on the railway map of India. It is now linked to the rest of the country only by road, NH 31A. The tracks will cover a distance of 52.7km. Work is expected to be complete in five years.

Vice President Ansari lays foundation stone for first ever Rail line in Sikkim

Shri M. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India at the laying of the foundation stone for the new railway line from Sivok to Rangpo on 30th October 2009 at Rangpo in Sikkim. The Governor of Sikkim, Shri Balmiki Prasad Singh and the Chief Minister of Sikkim, Dr. Pawan K. Chamling are also seen.

Gangtok,Oct 30:The Vice President Mohd. Hamid Hansari has asserted that the centre is fully aware to the need to significantly upgrade road, rail and air connectivity in the entire North-East region. He was laying the foundation stone for the first ever rail line to Sikkim at Rangpo in Sikkim on Friday. Describing the project as creating an engineering history for the railways, the vice-president said it was a "significant milestone" in providing railway connectivity to the state. He said the project would be an "eye-opener" for similar projects to be developed in the entire northeast.

"The government is fully aware of the need to significantly upgrade road, rail and air connectivity in the entire northeastern region. Many initiatives have been undertaken in this regard. The Sevoke-Rangpo broad gauge line is one such," Ansari said in his address.

The Railway Minister Ms.Mamta Banerjee said that there is a plan to connect Gangtok to Darjeeling and Mirik as well. The State Governor Mr. Balmiki Prasad Singh and the Chief Minister Mr.Pawan Chamling were also present on the occasion. AIR Gangtok correspondent reports that 1340 crore rupees rail project connecting Rangpo in Sikkim to the rest of the country via Sevoke in West Bengal will be completed by 2015. The 53 kilometer long Rangpo - Sevoke rail route will have five stations, 100 small bridges, 13 tunnels including one with a length of around 2 kilometer and four manned railway crossings. The rail project will provide a much needed alternative connectivity to this land-locked mountainous border state, the national highway 31 A get disrupted by frequent landslides particularly during the monsoon.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said her ministry would ensure that the project was completed within the scheduled time frame of five years.

Assuring the people that the project would receive her "personal attention", Banerjee said the link will cover 52.7 km with 13 tunnels and 110 small and large bridges. More than 12 km of the link will run through tunnels, the longest of which is 1.814 km.

Mamta Banerjee stationed at Rangpo for Sikkim rail project

Sikkim will be connected with rail link in five years:Mamata Banerjee


GANGTOK, October 29: Union Railways Minister Mamta Banerjee arrived in Sikkim today evening to attend tomorrow’s foundation stone laying function of the Rs. 1339.48 crore Rangpo-Sevoke rail link project at Mining Ground, Rangpo.
Banerjee reached Rangpo at around 5:40 pm by road and headed straight towards the NHPC guest house at Balutar where arrangements had been made for her stay. However, she returned back to Rangpo tourist guest house as she did not wished to stay far away from the venue of tomorrow’s programme. State authorities and Railway officials made arrangements for her stay at Rangpo tourist guest house, which is less than 10 kms away from the venue of foundation stone laying function.
Vice President M Hamid Ansari who is currently on a three day trip of Sikkim will be laying the foundation stone of the Sevoke-Rangpo new BG railway line at the Mining Ground in presence of the Union Railways Minister, Governor BP Singh, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and a host of other dignitaries.
The project which was sanctioned during the financial year 2008-09 is estimated to cost Rs. 1339.48 crore and spans a distance of 52.7 kms between Sevoke and Rangpo. Five stations have been proposed between the rail line-Raing, Gielkhola, Teesta Bazaar, Melli and Rangpo. There will be 100 bridges constructed with four manned level crossings along the rail track.
Altogether 13 tunnels will be constructed for the project with the longest tunnel being 1814 m.
Final location survey is in progress to fix up the alignment of this route and work out detailed estimate of the project. This will provide the first ever link to Sikkim.
Indian Railway Construction Company Ltd, a public sector undertaking under Ministry of Railway is entrusted with the execution of the project which is targeted to completed in five years.
Meanwhile, in accordance with the Railway’s policy of providing rail link to all the capitals of the Northeastern States, Railway has carried out a reconnaissance survey to bring Gangtok on the railway map of the country. Another survey to provide rail connectivity from Mirik to Gangtok is in progress

Railway Minister Mamata to flag off Sikkim lifeline today

Gangtok,October30: After a long wait, Union railway minister Mamata Banerjee is going to give a big push to the revival of a hill train from Sevok in West
Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. The minister will lay the foundation stone of the project on Friday.

But how far the dream can come true is a question especially after concerns of technical experts are considered.

The rail ministry will invest Rs 1013 crore in the first phase to re-develop the rail track, Ms Banerjee had said. Besides being a jewel in the Northeast Frontier Railway crown, the track would be a ‘lifeline’ to Sikkim, the land-locked Himalayan state that is dependent on NH31A, a landslide-prone, risky and narrow road, for its connectivity to the rest of the country.

However, experts, so far enthusiastic over revival of the track, raised serious questions after it was decided that the tracks will be rebuilt in broad gauge instead of narrow gauge.

"This track needs to climb 1000 ft within 30 km aerial distance. So it must have many wide curves to gain technically required minimum running length. It also must be capable of withstanding heavy loads. How much would the weak and hilly topography of Teesta bank allow these is a major question," said a senior railways engineer on condition of anonymity.

Moreover, the planned course hosts many upcoming major hydroelectricity projects. Feasibility study and DPR of all these were prepared without any consideration for the broad gauge track. In the long run, running of heavy trains along it may not be healthy for the road, the hydro projects or the rail track itself, said geologists.

Vice-President of India to arrive in Gangtok tomorrow

Gangtok,October27: Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari will be arriving here on Wednesday for a three day visit to Sikkim. The Vice President will fly from New Delhi to Bagdogra in an Indian Air Force plane and then fly by chopper to the Libing helipad at Gangtok in an IAF chopper on October 28. He will be received by the Governor Balmiki Prasad Singh, Chief Minister Pawan Chamling and senior officials of the State Government including Chief Justice and the judges of the Sikkim High Court and Chief Secretary. A guard of honour will be presented at the helipad by the army after the Vice President’s arrival. Ansari will be staying at the Raj Bhavan here. Upon his arrival, he is scheduled to visit Lingdum Monastery near Ranka, some 15 kms away from the Capital and is expected to visit the cultural village coming up there

India plans rail link to Sikkim to counter China

Gangtok,October27: India has decided to connect Sikkim with the rest of the country through a railway line in the face of massive infrastructure development by China along the borders in the North-East.

The railways will soon start construction of a 52.7-km stretch connecting Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is expected to lay the foundation stone for the project on October 30 at Rangpo. Vice-President Hamid Ansari will also accompany her.

The railway line has been declared a national project and trains are expected to run on it by 2015-16. A survey of the stretch is underway.

The Sevoke-Rangpo link is crucial as it will put Sikkim on the country's rail map. The larger plan is to eventually connect Sikkim's capital Gangtok with the country's railway network. This will be done by extending the line till Rangpo to Gangtok.