Sikkim to get first train link by 2027; Rlys fast-tracks Rs 9,000 crore Gangtok line

Sikkim is moving closer to being on the railway map and now Indian Railways is stepping up efforts to bring Sikkim’s capital Gangtok onto the railway network by prioritising a proposed 34-km rail link between Rangpo and Gangtok. The project is estimated to cost around Rs 9,000 crore.The Rangpo-Gangtok line would serve as an extension of the railway network once the ongoing Sivok-Rangpo project, connecting Sivok in Darjeeling with Rangpo in East Sikkim, is completed.The proposed connection was taken up recently by the Integrated Multimodal Network Planning Group (NPG), the multi-modal evaluation body functioning under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan.Importance of Sivok-Rangpo and Rangpo-Gangtok linesThe move comes as the railways works towards finishing the long-delayed Sivok-Rangpo railway project by December 2027.Also Read | Second Vande Bharat sleeper set to launch this month between Bengaluru and Mumbai; cutting travel time from 24 hours to under 16 hours, 30 year wait…