Lok Sabha Question No. 2984 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-06
Subject: Extension of Rishikesh-Karnprayag Railway Route
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Anil Baluni

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2984 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.08.2025

## EXTENSION OF RISHIKESH-KARNPRAYAG RAILWAY ROUTE

†2984. SHRI ANIL BALUNI:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the time by when the Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway route is likely to be completed; and
- (b) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  extend  the  said  railway route and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a)  and  (b):  Rishikesh-Karnaprayag  new  rail  line  project  (125  km)  is  a prestigious  project  of  Indian  Railways  which  lies  completely  in  the state of Uttarakhand. It passes through difficult geological and challenging terrain of Himalayas. This project is aimed at transforming connectivity in Uttarakhand.

The project alignment passes through Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal,  Rudrapryag  and  Chamoli  Districts  of  Uttarakhand  and  will provide  rail  connectivity  to  Devprayag  and  Karnaprayag  religious  and tourist spots with Rishikesh and National Capital of India.

The  alignment  of  the  project  predominantly  passes  through  tunnels. The  project  involves  construction  of  16  main  line  tunnels  of  105  km length,  12  escape  tunnels  of  about  98  km  length  and  10  km  of adits/cross passages. So far, 13 main line tunnels and 9 escape tunnels have been completed.

To increase progress of  works, 08 Adits in  various  tunnels were  also identified. These adits created additional work faces of tunnel excavation expediting early completion of long tunnels. Works of all 8 Adits have also been completed.

Accordingly,  tunneling  of  199  Km  against  total  scope  of  213  Km  has been completed.

For the first time in Indian Railways, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was deployed  in  the  Himalayan  Geology  for  faster  execution  of  works  of longest tunnel (T-8) which is 14.8Km long. Breakthrough of twin tunnels through TBMs has been achieved.

The  tunneling  is  being  carried  out  with  all  precautions  and  latest technologies to ensure minimum damage to ecology and surroundings.

The completion of any Railway project depends on various factors like quick land  acquisition  by  State  Government,  forest  clearance  by officials  of  forest  department,  deposition  of  cost  share  by  State Government  in  cost  sharing  projects,  priority  of  projects,  shifting  of infringing    utilities,    statutory    clearances    from    various    authorities, geological and topographical conditions of area, law and order situation in the area of project(s) site, number of working months  in  a year for particular project site due to climatic conditions etc.

The  Final  Location  Survey  of  Chardham  Project-  connectivity  link  to Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath with Indian Railways has been completed. The project has two alignments (i) Doiwala-UttarkashiBarkot which will serve Yamnotari and Gangotri shrines (ii) Karnaprayag- Saikot- Soneprayag- Joshimath will serve Kedarnath and Badrinath shrines.

After  firming  up  of  Detailed  Project  Report,  sanctioning  of  project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments  and  necessary  approvals  viz.  appraisal  of  NITI  Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed.

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