By Ashley Karen
The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway line is a new 125km broad gauge railway line being designed between Rishikesh and Karnaprayag, Uttarakhand, India. The Rail Vikas Nigam (RVN), a public sector undertaking (PSU) that is 100% owned by the Ministry of Railways, is developing the project.
According to reports, it is a part of the Char Dham railway project, which contains a 327 km-long railway line construction intended to boost connectivity between the Char Dham religious shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath.
The Indian government is financing the project, which is being designed at a calculated cost of $3.01bn. The railway line is anticipated to be completed by March 2025, and has the purpose to deliver accessibility to Uttarakhand’s center of pilgrimage, enhance trade connectivity and boost tourism.
Travel time between Rishikesh and Karanprayag will be cut from seven hours to two hours on the new connection, which will also assist with relieving congestion on the region’s road network.
The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway connection will link towns like Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, Gauchar, and Karnaprayag via five districts of Uttarakhand, comprising Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli. It contains the building of 12 railway stations, 17 tunnels, viaducts, and 35 bridges.
The whole line is positioned within the Garhwal Himalayan range in northern India, which has deviated rock structures including quartzites, dolomites, and phyllites. In addition, the region is prone to severe weather conditions and includes seismically active zones.
Tunnel construction covers 105km, or 84% of the total length of the line, containing a 98 km-long escape tunnel. The project’s final site survey has been finished, along with the procurement of 791ha of land and confirmation from the forest department. Also, the design work for all tunnels has been finished.
The project’s first segment is 5.7km long, stretching from Virbhadra to Yogh Nagri Rishikesh station. It has been put into use for the public in March 2020.
