Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR), in collaboration with IRCON International Limited, achieved a major milestone with the breakthrough of the 4.14 km-long Tunnel No. 8, along with an additional 1.01 km adit under the Sevoke-Rangpo New Rail Line Project. With the completion of excavation in Tunnel No. 8, tunnelling works have now been finished in 13 out of the 14 tunnels planned for the project.
Progress across other key components has also been substantial. Tunnel lining spanning 32.4 km has been completed in 12 tunnels, while ballastless track has been laid over 21 km within the tunnels.
The project involves construction of 44.96 km long new broad-gauge line connecting Sevoke in West Bengal to Rangpo on the West Bengal-Sikkim border at an investment of Rs 78.76 billion. It was sanctioned in the Railway Budget 2007-08.