Sikkim rail project reaches milestone with emergency exit tunnel completion

The Sivok-Rangpo Rail Project (SRRP), which will connect Sikkim to the railway network for the first time, has got a major boost with completion of an 855-metre-long emergency exit tunnel.

A 20-metre section of the tunnel runs below the National Highway-10 along the Teesta river and mining through its soft and loose soil, just like the river sand bed, was the most challenging part of the whole project as there was a high risk that it might cave in, snapping Sikkim's road connectivity with the rest of the country.

But the Railways succeeded in mining a tunnel in sandy soil below NH-10, while averting a cave-in risk and without causing a single millimetre of deformation to the highway. NH-10 is the only road network that connects Sikkim with other parts of the country.

The project, covering a 44.96 km between Sivok in West Bengal and Ranpo in Sikkim) has 14 tunnels, 22 bridges (13 major, nine minor) and five railway stations.

Indian Railway has set a new deadline of August 2025 to finish the SRRP that will connect Sikkim with the rest of the country through the rail network for the first time.