Siliguri, March 13 -- A major milestone was achieved on Thursday in the prestigious Sivok-Rangpo Rail Project (SRRP) with the breakthrough of Tunnel No. T-8 in Kalimpong district, bringing Sikkim closer to its first railway connection.
The main tunnel measures 4,148.6 metres, while an evacuation tunnel of about 1,010 metres connecting the main tunnel to NH-10 had been completed earlier. Located between Teesta Bazaar and Melli Bazaar, the tunnel passes through highly fragile geological formations of the Lesser Himalayas and is considered one of the most challenging sections of the project.
Engineers used the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) along with Tunnel Seismic Prediction technology to assess ground conditions ahead of excavation...