NET Web Desk

Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Patil Danve said on Monday that the railway connection between West Bengal and Sikkim is expected to be completed by 2023

He further said that this railway link will usher socio-economic development in the Himalayan state. Minister Danve also inspected tunneling work at Sevoke and interacted with the railway staff.

Talking to the media, the Minister said, “The Centre is targeting to complete the railway line between Sevoke in West Bengal and Rangpo in Sikkim by 2023. It will spur socio-economic development in the Himalayan state. The rail connectivity will make transportation of goods easier.”

It may be mentioned that, the rail line would be 52-km-long and will have six stations. It was earlier scheduled to be completed by 2015 but faced challenges and could not meet the deadline.

The construction of the railway tracks began in 2009 at a time when Mamata Banerjee was the railway minister. The estimated cost of the project has also increased from Rs 1,300 crore to over Rs 5,000 crore.