In another milestone for the Sivok-Rangpo rail project, tunnel 14 witnessed the completion of the final concrete lining on 15 May.

According to the Railways, the breakthrough of this tunnel was achieved last year, while this year the completion of final concrete lining is a marvellous achievement by the engineers involved in the project.

In March 2023, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw inspected the tunnel and appreciated the work done.

Finally, the auspicious occasion of completion of final concrete lining is marked as a significant event in the journey of the project.

This tunnel is the gateway of the railway network to Sikkim. It is about 1,977-metre-long and situated in the Rangpo subdivision of district Pakyong in Sikkim.

The tunnel has become the first in the completion of the final concrete lining out of 14 tunnels in the project.

It is located between Kumrek and Khanikhola in the east Sikkim region and traverses through challenging geological conditions of the lesser Himalayas.

The New Austrian Tunnelling Machine has been used for the completion of the tunnel through challenging and vulnerable groundmass with the help of experienced engineers from India along with highly experienced foreign engineers on this project.

The track-lining work will be the next activity on this tunnel, set to begin very soon.

The Rangpo station, situated just after tunnel 14, is also under construction and, after completion, will be a commercial and tourism hub for the state of Sikkim.

This railway project will enhance the socio-economic status of the state.

The new rail link project from Sivok to Rangpo is about 45 km long and characterised by 14 tunnels, 22 bridges, and five stations, including an underground station at Teesta Bazar in West Bengal.

About 38 km of the entire project alignment is passing through tunnels and about 76 per cent tunnelling work has already been completed.

The mining work at six tunnels has already been completed and many are on the verge of completion.

The final concrete lining works at other tunnels have also started.

At present, all the activities related to the construction of tunnels, bridges, and stations of the project are in progress on a war-footing basis and targeted to complete by December 2024.

The Railways maintains that this is one of the prestigious ongoing national projects in India and, upon completion of the project, Sikkim will be, for the first time, connected via railways.