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 Community development blocks in India, CD block in the Kalimpong Sadar subdivision of the Kalimpong district in the state of West Bengal, India. The town lies on the Nat ...

and nearby areas like Mangpu, Shelpu, Rolak, Latpanchar, Sittong, Teesta Valley, Lohapul, Birik Dara etc in

Kalimpong district Kalimpong district is a List of districts in India, district in the state of West Bengal, India. In 2017, it was carved out as a separate district to become the 21st district of West Bengal. The district is headquartered at Kalimpong, which g ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. It is currently under construction on the

Sivok–Rangpo line Sivok-Rangpo Railway Line, a 44.96 km long 5 ft 6 in gauge railway, broad gauge line connecting the Indian states of West Bengal (Sivok railway station on New Jalpaiguri–Alipurduar–Samuktala Road line near Siliguri in Darjeeling district) and ...

of the

Northeast Frontier Railway The Northeast Frontier Railway (abbreviated NFR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered in Maligaon, Guwahati in the state of Assam, and responsible for operation and expansion of rail network all across N ...

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

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 , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

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 Railw ...

, Teesta Bazaar, 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 ...

. 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 is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

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 the capital and the most populous city of the Indian state of Sikkim. The seat of East Sikkim district, eponymous district, Gangtok is in the eastern Himalayas, Himalayan range, at an elevation of . The city's population of 100 ...

. * 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 and the busiest ...

(30 km from Sevoke through

Siliguri Siliguri (, ; ), also known as Shiliguri, is a major Tier ii cities in india, tier-II city in West Bengal. It forms the twin cities, Twin Cities with the neighbouring city of Jalpaiguri. The city spans areas of the Darjeeling district, Darjeel ...

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

References

{{Reflist Alipurduar railway division Railway stations in Kalimpong district