Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line Project: After the completion of this line, access to many major pilgrimage sites will become easier and faster. A total of 12 stations are being built on this rail line, out of which 10 are underground
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ambitious rail line project has now moved a step further. In the ongoing Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line Project in Uttarakhand, a 3.2 km long tunnel has been crossed. This project is 125 kilometers long, in which there are 17 tunnels. The total length of these tunnels is 6.2 km. The freshly dug tunnel is from Narkota to Jawadi bypass. About 500 workers were engaged in the construction of this tunnel. Apart from 17 tunnels, 35 bridges are also to be built on this rail line. The first tunnel was crossed in 2022.
A total of 12 stations will be built on this. The construction of this rail line is being done jointly by Indian Railways, Rail Vikas Nigam. Along with this, many private companies including L&T are also engaged in its construction work. The project is expected to be completed by December 2025. With the completion of this rail line, the journey from Rishikesh to various religious places will become easier and shorter. Significantly, a total of 12 stations are to be built in this project, but only 2 will be above the ground, the remaining 10 stations will be built in the tunnel.
Travel time will be reduced
After the completion of this rail line and the commencement of operations on it, the time taken to reach many pilgrimage places from Rishikesh will be greatly reduced. According to Omprakash Malgudi, senior project manager of Rail Vikas Nigam, after the commissioning of this line, the travel time between Rishikesh to Karnprayag will be reduced from 7 hours to 2 hours. Whereas, the journey from Rishikesh to Badrinath can be completed in just 4 hours. Now it takes 11 hours. Also, the journey from Karnprayag to Badrinath will be completed in just 4.30 hours.
This whole project is being built on the mountains. For this, instead of Rs 4200 crore was allocated in the budget of 2021-22. A total of Rs 16216 crore is estimated to be spent in this scheme. For this, the deadline till 2025 has been set. That's why all the concerned units are busy in completing this project fast. A large number of jobs are being generated from this project.