Riyang Railway Station/Raing Railway Station is the railway station which serves

Rambi Bazar Rambi Bazar is an urban village lying near Teesta River in the Kalimpong I CD block in the Kalimpong Sadar subdivision of the Kalimpong district in the state of West Bengal, India. The town lies on the National Highway 10 connecting Siliguri an ...

and nearby areas in

Kalimpong district Kalimpong district is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. Originally known as Dalingkot tehsil, the region was alternatively under the control of Sikkim and Bhutan. In 1865, it was annexed from Bhutan by British India under the Treaty ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. It is currently under construction on the

Sivok–Rangpo line Sivok-Rangpo Railway Line is a line currently under construction to connect the Indian states of West Bengal and Sikkim. It branches out from New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line at Sivok railway station, Sevoke Town near Siliguri i ...

of the

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the Zones and divisions of Indian Railways, 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and e ...

Alipurduar railway division Alipurduar railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Northeast Frontier Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed on 15 January 1958 and its headquarter is located at Alipurduar in the state of West Ben ...

Under-construction extension

, 44 km-long line, will provide access to Gangtok in Sikkim.North East to get better Indian Railways connectivity! 5 major rail projects lined up
Financial Express, July 17, 2020. The foundation stone for construction of a new railway line from Sevoke railway station to proposed Rangpo railway station on the border of Sikkim and

was laid in October 2009 by the vice president of India. In 2008, the line was proposed to be 53 km long with

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

track but the final alignment is 45 km long with 3.5 km in Sikkim state and the rest in West Bengal state. The track will have 28 bridges and 14 tunnels and 38.5 km of the track will be in tunnels. Bridges over deep gorges and valleys will provide a scenic journey. The track is due to be constructed through the foothills of the Kanchanjungha mountain range and the Teesta river valley. New railway stations will be constructed at

Melli Melli (also spelled Malli) is a town on the West Bengal-Sikkim border near the River Teesta. The town consists of two markets, one lying on NH10 in Kalimpong district of West Bengal and the other in Namchi district of Sikkim. Melli Railwa ...

Teesta Bazaar Teesta Bazaar is a village located downstream from the town of Melli on the right bank of Teesta River in the Kalimpong I CD block in the Kalimpong subdivision of Kalimpong district of the state of West Bengal, India. Geography Location Tee ...

, Geil Khola, Riang, and

Rangpo Rangpo is a Municipal town in Pakyong district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The town borders West Bengal's Kalimpong district and is situated along the Teesta river and Rangpo River. It is the first town of Sikkim lying on National Highway 10 ...

. The Indian Railways signed a contract with the construction company, IRCON, only in May 2010 but the final alignment had not been fixed for the first 22 km through elephant sanctuary forest even in 2013 and the final clearance of environment ministry had not been received. To obtain approval of the environment and forest ministry, the railways made a proposal in February 2013 to install elephant sensors along the stretch of the proposed railway line in Mahananda elephant sanctuary or run the trains at a speed of only 20 km per hour in the forest area and stop when an elephant is sighted close to the track. People of two villages in East Sikkim, through which a 3.5 km stretch of the 45 km long railway line has been planned, had not agreed to give their land for laying the track. The project cost has escalated from the estimated cost of Rs.13.4 billion in 2008 The

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

approved the project in February 2016 with strict guidelines of the National Wildlife Board that cleared the project in June 2015 but ordered restricted speed, wireless animal tracking sensors and allowed digging of tunnels only during daytime. The railway line is needed for security and socio-economic reasons. The railway line will help troops and armaments move faster towards the Indo-Tibet border. Railway Board chairman visited and met the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials on 2 March 2018 to discuss the commencement of construction of the track and tunnels. The railway line up to Rangpo is expected to be completed in 2021. In the second phase the line will be extended up to

Gangtok Gangtok is a city, municipality, the capital and the largest populated place of the Indian state of Sikkim. It is also the headquarters of the East Sikkim district, Gangtok District. Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an e ...

. * Estimated cost: Rs.1,340 crore in 2008. * Length of final alignment: 44.98 km * Stations en route: Riang, Gailkhola, Tista Bazaar, Melli * Nearest junction:

New Jalpaiguri New Jalpaiguri Junction railway station (station code NJP) established in 1960, is an A1 category broad gauge and narrow-gauge railway station under Katihar railway division of Northeast Frontier Railway zone. It is the largest as well as the ...

(30 km from Sevoke through

Siliguri Siliguri, ) is a major tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms twin cities, "Twin Cities" with the neighboring district capital of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in the Indian sta ...

) * Route under tunnels: 38.53 km (86%) * Number of bridges: 28 * Number of tunnels: 14 * Longest tunnel: 5.1 km

References

{{Reflist Railway stations in West Bengal

RAILWAYS Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

Alipurduar railway division Railway stations in Kalimpong district