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TRANSPORTS |
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Local public
transport include city buses, cycle
rickshaws-often paddled by illegal
Bangladesh immigrants and auto rickshaws,
buses, and Mahindra/Ape tempos. There is no
metered vehicular transport. While 6-seater
City Autos ply between two fixed
destinations of about 10–15 km away, one can
hire petrol-driven auto rickshaws from
auto-stands at a rate fixed by the Municipal
Authorities. A total of 6000 rickshaws of
the Municipal Corporation area and an
additional 15000 unlicensed ones ply in the
increasingly congested city. |
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RAIL |
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Siliguri has
three important railway stations:
1. Siliguri Town - This is the oldest
station in the area. Opened on 23 Aug, 1880
during the British Raj, this station used to
be the terminus for the trains coming from
Kolkata, and the starting point for the
world-famous Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
for journey to Darjeeling. It is this
station where such world-renowned
personalities as Rabindranath Tagore,
Chittaranjan Das and Subhash Chandra Bose
set their feet on their way to Darjeeling
and other places.
2. Siliguri Junction - This station opened
in 1949, and used to be the point of
departure of all trains to the north-eastern
states, until the broad gauge was extended
to Dibrugarh. Siliguri Junction is the only
station in India with tracks of all the
three gauges used in India.
3. New Jalpaiguri - Opened in 1961 as a
totally greenfield project 6 km south of
Siliguri. Initially named New Siliguri (but,
later renamed New Jalpaiguri as it is
located in Jalpaiguri District) this is now
the most important station in the region. It
is also known as NJP. This station connects
Siliguri to every nook and corner of the
country by railway. The city has now been
expanded and included New Jalpaiguri as one
of its ward of Siliguri Municipal
Corporation. The Darjeeling Himalayan Toy
train is the main attraction of this
station.
With the extension of broad-gauge railway
track to the Siliguri Junction station,
people can now travel directly to the heart
of the city without having to alight at New
Jalpaiguri. This new broad-gauge track
extends to the old Dooars metre-gauge track
up to Alipurduar and beyond. Travelling over
this railway line is a beautiful experience
as it passes through the picturesque tea
gardens of the Dooars area in the backdrop
of Darjeeling and Bhutan hills. |
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AIR |
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Bagdogra
airport, situated about 15 km away is
the
International airport in the region. The
airport, since falls within Air Force area
(having some restrictions over length of
runways and time of flight, etc.), is not
well connected to most Indian cities.
However, daily flights are available for the
state capital Kolkata, New Delhi,
Guwahati, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangkok and Paro. |
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BUS |
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The Tenzing
Norgay Central Bus Terminus situated next to
the Siliguri Junction Railway Station is a
major stop for most private and state-owned
buses in the region. The Royal Government of
Bhutan also operates buses from Siliguri to
its border town Phuentsholing. Jeeps also
link Siliguri to neighbouring hill towns
like Darjeeling, Gangtok, Kurseong,
Kalimpong, Mirik, Jorethang, Namchi.
The Sikkim
Government buses run to various destinations
of Sikkim from the Sikkim Nationalised
Transport (SNT) bus station near the Tenzing
Norgay Bus Terminus. There is another Bus
Terminus named P. C. Mittal Bus Stand on
Sevoke Road. All Buses heading for the
Dooars region via the Sevoke Coronation
Bridge originate here. |
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ROAD |
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A new four-lane
road, named Vivekananda Road, has been
rebuilt connecting Burdwan Road to
Mahabirsthan bringing much relief to the
chaotic section of the city and bifurcation
of Nivedita road is also going on. The major
roads-Hill Cart Road, Bidhan Road and Sevoke
Road were historically rail routes of the
trains "Toy Trains" that went towards Sevoke
/ Darjeeling. Street lighting and
bifurcation of Hill Cart Road took place
only in 1988 during the Nehru Cup football
tournament. The Mahabirsthan area recently
got a fly-over the first of its kind in the
city.
National Highway
no. 31 and 31A passes through Siliguri. In a
recent national level project of building a
golden quadrangle linking the major cities
of India the NH 31 has been converted into a
four way expressway.
The neighbouring
countries like Nepal, Bhutan and border
region of Bangladesh are also connected
through the road network. |
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