Construction Work On Rishikesh-Karnprayag Rail Line Continues In Rudraprayag
Last Updated: February 23, 2023, 17:34 IST
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 16,200 crore, up from the initial estimate of Rs 4,000 crore made six years ago.
The Ministry of Railways said that the project has made 33% progress. On the other hand, 83 km of tunnels are already constructed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled the ambitious Rishikesh-Karnprayag Rail Line Project with 17 tunnels covering 125 kilometres. According to News18 Hindi, the construction of tunnels on the Rishikesh-Karnprayag Rail line is underway. A 3.2 Km long tunnel will connect pilgrimage towns Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag, and Gauchar Karnprayag with five districts of Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri, Rudrapryag, and Chamoli.
The estimated cost of the project is Rs 16,200 crore, up from the initial estimate of Rs 4,000 crore made six years ago. The budget increase has been attributed to the forest ministry’s delay in approving Rail Vikas Nigam Limited’s (RVNL) request for environmental clearance to purchase property in high-altitude regions. Along with inflation, the cost increase is the result of adding a separate rescue tunnel that will be built parallel to the main train line, according to RVNL officials.
Recently, the Rishikesh-Karnprayag Project in Uttarakhand progress report was shared by the Ministry of Railways. The endeavour has made a total of 33% progress with 83 km of tunnels already constructed. An additional 125 km of broad gauge rail is being installed as part of the proposal in the hilly region of India. From the 125 km of broad gauge, 104 km will be underground. The ministry informed that 17 tunnels and 18 bridges will be constructed in the ambitious rail line. When the project will conclude, the 7-hour drive between Rishikesh and Karnprayag will be reduced to 4 hours.
Yog Nagari Rishikesh in Rishikesh, Dehradun, Srinagar, Tehri, Shivpuri, and Byasi in Tehri district; Dungripanth and Devprayag (Dhari devi) in Pauri; Gholtir and Rudraprayag in Rudraprayag district; and Karanprayag and Gaucher in Chamoli district; will be the railway stops. According to reports, the trains’ operating pace would be 100 km/h (62 mph).
The rail route is also a part of India’s geostrategic initiative to develop infrastructure along the India-China border, which aims to deter the neighbour’s expansion plans. The government will have the ability to send troops to the India-China border quickly in the event of anything untoward occurring. It is being monitored on the Government of India’s PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation) portal because it is regarded as being of national strategic significance (GOI).
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