GANGTOK ( Metro Rail News): On 19th February, another breakthrough was achieved on the longest excavation tunnel of the main T-10 tunnel of the Sivok-Rangpo Rail line Project.
T-10 is the main tunnel with a length of 5300 m, and the evacuation tunnel has a length of 1144m. This tunnel is the longest tunnel in the Sivok-Rangpo Rail project, which is situated between Bhalukhola and Tarkhola in Kalimpong district. The evacuation tunnel joins the central tunnel with the NH-10. In addition, this tunnel passes through challenging and of the lesser Himalayas.
According to the sources, in June 2021, tunnel excavation began. Surprisingly, it was completed in only 1.5 years despite the vulnerable geological conditions, making it one of the project’s significant achievements. Under the project, the new Austrian Tunnelling method was used to counter the vulnerability of the groundmass.
In main tunnel of T-10, around 3320 m of tunnelling has been completed, and 1980 m is yet to be completed. It is likely to be finished by the end of the year.
As per the release, around 70% of project work has been completed, and other activities of the projects ( constructing tunnels, bridges, station yards etc.) are likely to be completed by the end of the year 2024.
