Rlys: Underground tracks through Chicken’s Neck to aid def needs

Guwahati: Indian Railways on Saturday said the twin-tunnel underground line through the Siliguri Corridor — the narrow “Chicken’s Neck” that links the northeast with the rest of India — to create a protected, non-visible alternative route for uninterrupted movement of defence personnel, military equipment and emergency relief.Given the Siliguri corridor’s proximity to the international borders of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh — and its well-known vulnerability to floods, congestion and security disruptions — the underground railway line assumes immense strategic importance, railway officials said.“The alignment has been planned primarily as an underground corridor to ensure secure, uninterrupted and resilient connectivity in the strategically sensitive Siliguri Corridor, which connects mainland India with the northeastern States through a narrow stretch of land approximately 22 km wide,” NF Railway CPRO Kapinjal Kishore Sharma said.According to officials, the proposed 35.76km-long Tinmile Hat – Rangapani – Bagdogra underground line will connect to Bagdogra IAF station and the Army’s 33rd Corps Bengdubi Cantonment, reinforcing secure and uninterrupted connectivity in one of the country’s most sensitive corridors. The Dumdangi-Rangapani section will be 33.40km long.The proposed project, under the Katihar division of NF Railway, will span parts of Darjeeling and Uttar Dinajpur districts in West Bengal and Kishanganj district of Bihar.

Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the project at a media interaction last week.“The underground alignment will provide a protected and non-visible alternative route, enabling uninterrupted movement of defence personnel, military equipment and emergency relief materials during exigencies,” the CPRO added.The underground corridor is expected to transform India’s northeastern frontier, offering a lifeline that is both, offering a lifeline that is both invisible and invulnerable in a region where geography and geopolitics converge.