‘Nathula to be connected to India’s railway map’

MP | 6 March 2023 | Siliguri: There are plans to extend the Sevok-Rangpo Railway project to Nathula located on the Indo-China border stated Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw enroute to Sikkim. 

The move is aimed at further strengthening the security of the country. The Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw landed in Bagdogra Airport in Siliguri on Sunday and departed for Sikkim on Sunday. He also inspected progress of work at the Sevoke-Rangpo Railway . 

“This railway project is from Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim. It will be extended first to Gangtok and then to the China border at Nathula. Railways will do this work to further strengthen the security of the country and for better communications” said the Minister. The Sevok- Rongpu work is supposed to be completed by the end of this year or early next year. Incidentally Nathula Pass is located at an altitude of 14400 ft in Sikkim and at a distance of 51km from Gangtok, the capital of Sikkim. It is the border between India and Tibetan Autonomous Region under China. 

A railway link connecting Nathula with the plains of Siliguri will help in defence (speedy troop movement) and also in trade and tourism in the days to come. The foundation stone of the Sevoke-Rongpo railway project was laid by Mamata Banerjee when she was the Railway Minister in 2009. 

Accordingly, the work had started, but the work was interrupted a number of times owing to landslides. 

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw went to Sikkim to review the progress of the work. He got down at Sevoke station near Siliguri and also entered the tunnel. He urged the officials to finish the work quickly. He also sought the cooperation of the state government to do more work. “Our aim is to connect the entire country through the railways network. We want to take the railway to the China border at Nathula. It will benefit our country’s army a lot,” he stated when he landed at the Bagdogra airport in the afternoon. He also said, “Rail wants to do a lot of work in Bengal. 

For that, we want the government of Bengal to cooperate with us. We need land. For that, we have to rehabilitate some people. It is the responsibility of the state government to maintain law and order. Hopefully, they will help. 

The Indian Railways is determined to develop railways in Eastern India. Earlier, Rs 2,000 crore was given for railway development in this region, now it has been increased to around Rs 10,000 crore.” Incidentally, the work on Sevoke-Rongpo railway is going on. There will be a total of 14 tunnels, 21 bridges in this project. There are 5 railways stations Sevoke, Riang, Teesta, Melli and Rangpo. 

Courtesy & source- Millennium Post

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/nathula-to-be-connected-to-indias-railway-map-510822