Char Dham Railway Project
The Char Dham Railway Project is a dream project of Indian Government and Indian Railways to connect all Char Dhams of Uttarakhand by Railway Line. The pilgrimages will be connected by train are Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath from Haridwar, Rishikesh and Dehradun.
The development of Char Dham Railway line will be done in phases by connecting Karnaprayag from Rishikesh and Uttarkashi from Dehradun. After that further 4 train routes will be started to each Dham, which will have its own challenged due to remote location, extreme climate and altitude.
Char Dham Guide
- Char Dham Tours - Char Dham Hotels - Char Dham Car Rentals
- Char Dham Yatra Guidelines - Char Dham Registration Guide
- Char Dham Route - Char Dham Travel Tips - Char Dham News
- Importance of Char Dham Yatra - Char Dham Yatra
- Kedarnath Helicopter Services - Char Dham Yatra by Helicopter
- Do Dham Same Day Heli Tour
Char Dham Destinations
Strategic importance of Char Dham Project
Other than providing easy access to Char Dham and other travel destinations of Uttarakhand, it has another importance.
Once this railway line is completed, India-China border will be closer to the rest of India by railway. The time taken to reach the strategic border military stations from Delhi will be reduced by providing safe and quick mode of public transport for personnel and equipment.
Char Dham Railway Routes
Rishikesh-Karnprayag Railway Line
This will be the first project to be executed under Char Dham Train project. The first railway station has been constructed and work for tunnels and bridges is being paced up. The project will likely to finish by the end of 2024 and open for tourists in 2025.
Karnaprayag–Saikot–Sonprayag Kedarnath Railway
The Karnaprayag–Saikot–Sonprayag Kedarnath Railway, will be 99 kms route starts from Karnaprayag and ends at Sonprayag 13 km before Kedarnath. The route starts from a "Y" fork at Karnaprayag off under construction Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway, goes via Saikot and ends at Sonprayag.
Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway
The Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway, will be 75 kms route starts at Saikot and ends at Joshimath 46 km before Badrinath. The route starts from a "Y" fork at Saikot off Karnaprayag–Saikot–Sonprayag Kedarnath Railway, and ends at Joshimath from where people can take local transport to Badrinath.
Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway
The Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway, will be 131 kms route starts from the existing Doiwala station near Dehradun and will terminate at Maneri (Uttarkashi) close to Gangotri. Tourists can take local transport to reach Gangotri from Maneri and Uttarkashi.
Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway
The Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway, will be 22 kms route starts from a "Y" fork at Uttarkashi off Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway and ends near Yamunotri at Palar 1265 m above mean sea level.
Current status of Char Dham Railway Project
2020: The first railway station of Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Railway line has been completed and named as "Yog Nagri Rishikesh Railway Station".
2019: Currently new Rishikesh railway station is ready and operational.bridge over chandra bhaga river is being laid also bridge over alaknanda river in Tehri is under construction both these bridges will be ready by next year as per plan.land for all railway stations is acquired and work is going on in small phases over entire route.
2018: In January 2018, Reconnaissance Survey was complete, and Final Survey using airborne electromagnetic technique was underway by Turkish-Ukrainian company, which will be completed in 2 years, after which track laying would begin in December 2019.
2017: Char Dham Railway project's 327 km long construction, costing INR 43,292 crore (USD $6.6 billion), began with the foundation stone laying and commencement of INR ?120 crore Final Location Survey (FSL) in May 2017 by the Union Railway minister Suresh Prabhu.
