Railways to Lay 40km Underground Tracks for Seamless Northeast Access.

The Centre is planning to lay underground railway tracks along the 40-km strategic corridor in West Bengal that connects the Northeast with the rest of the country, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said recently.

The narrow land corridor via Siliguri in West Bengal, often referred to as the ‘chicken’s neck’, is the only land link between the Northeast region and mainland India. Addressing reporters via video conference while outlining the Union Budget allocation for the Railways, Vaishnaw said special planning is underway for the strategic stretch.

“There is special planning for the 40-km strategic corridor connecting the Northeast with the rest of the country. The planning is on to lay underground railway tracks and also to expand the existing tracks to four lines,” the minister said.

Providing further details, Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) General Manager Chetan Kumar Shrivastava said the proposed underground section would run between Tin Mile Haat and Rangapani railway stations in West Bengal. He said the underground alignment is significant from a security perspective.