Rail link to connect Sikkim with the rest of the country

New Delhi: Desperately trying to play catch-up with China in developing critical infrastructure in border areas, India has now decided to bring the border mountainous state of Sikkim into the ambit of the national railway grid.  Completion of the first phase of a proposed rail link will connect the small, north-eastern state with the rest of the country.

A view of the state capital Gangtok

In the first phase, the proposed link will connect West Bengal's border town of Sivoke to Sikkim's township of Rangpo- a distance of 52.7 km. Work on the project is expected to commence soon as land survey is already complete and completion is scheduled for 2015-16.

According to railway officials, the first phase is expected to cost around Rs1,339 core. Of this amount, 75% will be borne by the railways, while 25% will be put up by the ministry of finance.

In the second phase the state border town of Rangpo will be connected to state capital Gangtok. The survey for further extension upto Gangtok, which is 69 km further away, has also been completed and the survey report is being examined by the ministry.

Railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, will put down the foundation stone on Friday in the presence of vice president Hamid Ansari.

"This project will connect Sikkim to the mainstream of Indian Railway framework. More projects have been planned for the northeastern region which will not only be of geo-strategic importance but will also ensure overall development of the region," a senior railway official said.

India has woken up quite late to the massive Chinese investment in border area infrastructure, which has been extensively built up by China in what it refers to as the Tibet Autonomous Region. Such infrastructure now allows it to amass troops and critical defence equipment at the border in a much shortened period of time.