The railway ministry has sanctioned over ₹900 crore for the doubling of the tracks along a parallel route along the strategic Siliguri corridor, commonly known as the “Chicken’s neck”, that connects the entire Northeast with the rest of the country.

On June 8, Deepak Singh, a director of the Gati Shakti (civil) of the railway board, sent a letter to the general manager (constructions) of Northeast Frontier Railway, mentioning that ₹916.18 crore had been sanctioned for doubling of the track between Thakurganj in Bihar and the Siliguri Junction station.

These stations are around 56km apart and are along a parallel track that connects Siliguri from Aluabari Road and beyond, along the Siliguri corridor.

From Aluabari, the rail route moves through Thakurganj, then enters Bengal via Naxalbari and reaches Siliguri via Bagdogra. Some long-distance trains run along this route.

“It is an important decision to lay a second track along this route as it would ease the pressure of train movement along the principal route that connects Aluabari Road with New Jalpaiguri (NJP) and heads for the northeast,” said a retired railway official.

The allocation comes shortly after the railways decided to double the track — a 7.15km stretch between NJP and Siliguri Junction — to facilitate train movement along the entire stretch, starting from Thakurganj.

Over the past few months, the railway authorities made some decisions to strengthen and fortify the railway network along the Chicken’s neck, which include ambitious projects like a high-speed rail corridor between Delhi and Siliguri, and a 35km-long underground rail track near Siliguri.

“A second line on this vital section (Thakurganj-Siliguri) will significantly enhance the capacity of the rail network in our region. It will also create options for introduction of more trains in this area,” said Raju Bista, the Darjeeling MP.