Char Dham Railway Project Update: Good news for devotees as Indian Railways’ Rishikesh to Karnaprayag rail line project in Uttarakhand gets a boost! According to the Railway Ministry, work is going on in full swing to launch the Bow String Road Bridge measuring 125 metres over Alaknanda at Sivai Kaleshwar. This bridge, the ministry said, will help to connect the proposed Karnprayag railway station to NH 58 in the state of Uttarakhand. Also, piers are coming up over the Alaknanda river for this important Indian Railways’ project. It is the longest bridge (489 metres) of the project. The bridge shall connect Srinagar town to the proposed railway station. Here are some glimpses of the piers coming up over the Alaknanda river, shared by the Railway Ministry:
Earlier this year, the Railway Ministry had said Kedarnath and Badrinath railway connectivity will take off from Karnaprayag railway station which is part of 125 kilometres long Rishikesh – Karnaprayag new broad gauge rail line project. Gangotri and Yamunotri connectivity by railways will take off from the existing Doiwala railway station. As per Char Dham broad gauge rail connectivity survey, the new rail line’s terminal railway station are terminating at Barkot, Uttarkashi, Soneprayag and Joshimath which are short of Char Dham temples because of steep terrain as well as limitation of broad gauge ruling gradients.
According to the ministry, several pilgrims across the country flock to Char Dhams. Besides, a large number of international and domestic tourists are attracted to site seeing and trekking in the state of Uttarakhand. The existing road connectivity in the state travels through fragile mountainous slopes. Besides, it also suffers from serious handicaps of load, safety, capacity and speed. Indian Railways’ connectivity to these Char Dham sites will make the journey much safer, comfortable, economical, eco friendly and all weather, the Railway Ministry had said.
