SIKKIM:Construction begins for Sikkim rail link

Kolkata, Feb 24 (PTI) The construction work for a railway link between Sikkim and the rest of the country began at Sevoke in north Bengal on February 20, nearly four months after Vice-President Hamid Ansari laid the foundation stone on October 30.

The work began with the ground-breaking ceremony attended among others by the Northeast Frontier Railway general manager Shiv Kumar, senior NFR officials and representatives of IRCON International Limited which is executing the project.

According to IRCON sources, the project aims at connecting Sevoke in north Bengal to Rangpo in Sikkim by laying a 44.4-km line.

Passing along the foothills of the Kanchenjunga range, nearly 70 per cent of the proposed railway line will be through tunnels.