Train to Sikkim: Railways completes mining in 10 out of 14 tunnels, sets August 2025 deadline
Railways has set a new deadline of August 2025 to finish the Sivok-Rangpo Rail Project (SRRP) which will connect Sikkim with the rest of the country through a rail network for the first time, a senior official said on Friday.
The project, covering a total length of 44.96 km between Sivok (West Bengal) to Ranpo (Sikkim), has 14 tunnels, 22 bridges (13 major and 9 minor) and five railway stations viz Sivok, Riyang, Teesta Bazar, Melli and Rangpo.
At present, trains going towards Guwahati from other parts of the country pass through Sivok railway station which now pave the way for a new rail route to Rangpo in Sikkim via Riyang, Teesta and Melli (all in West Bengal).
«Out of the 14 tunnels, mining work has been completed in 10. Out of the 10, we have completed the lining work in four tunnels with work going on in the rest six. The longest tunnel is 5.3 km and the shortest one 538 metres,» the official said.
He added, «Out of 13 major bridges, 12 are ready with the substructure. The maximum height of the pier (of Bridge-17) is 85 metre, constructing which was itself an uphill task. The most demanding aspect of the project is that 86 per cent of the total rail line passes through tunnels and five percent over bridges. Only nine percent is under the open sky.»
Talking about the challenge in meeting the August 2025 deadline, he said, «We experienced significant squeezing/deformation in T-8 and T-10 due to the very poor strata of rocks. We took remedial measures to control it by cement consolidation, grouting and
