Parliamentary panel reviews progress of Sivok–Rangpo railway project

DIMAPUR — A high-level Parliamentary Standing Committee on Railways, comprising Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and chaired by Dr. CM Ramesh is undertaking a study visit to Gangtok, Kolkata and Rishikesh, from June 4 to the 9th.

In a press release, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) stated that the visit underscores the national importance accorded to railway infrastructure development, connectivity enhancement and capacity augmentation across the country, particularly in the Northeastern region.

As part of the study visit, the committee visited key project sites of the Sivok–Rangpo Railway Line Project on Thursday, including railway stations, tunnels and bridges and obtained first-hand insights into the progress of the landmark connectivity initiative.

The IRCON informed the committee that the 44.96-km Sivok–Rangpo Railway Line, which will provide the first rail connectivity to Sikkim, is targeted for completion by December 2027 and has achieved 77% physical progress so far.

The delegation also visited the Rangpo Railway Station site and Tunnel No. 14.

The committee was accompanied by Chetan Kumar Shrivastava, General Manager of NFR, Divisional Railway Manager of Alipurduar Division along with senior Railway officials from Headquarters, NFR (Construction), IRCON and RITES Limited.

On June 5 at Gangtok, the committee is scheduled to hold an informal discussion with the general manager, NFR, and the chairman & managing director, IRCON International Limited, on the subject “Expansion of rail network in Northeast and Union Territories” with special emphasis on the Sivok–Rangpo Railway Line Project.

The interaction is expected to provide valuable insights into the ongoing efforts to strengthen rail connectivity, enhance transportation infrastructure and foster sustainable socio-economic development across the Northeastern region.