Char Dham Railway

Char Dham Railway
Overview
Status	Under-construction
Locale	Uttarakhand
Termini	Start at Doiwala for Yamunotri and Gangotri routes, Start at Karnaprayag for Kedarnath and Badrinath routes End at Palar for Yamunotri, End at Maneri for Gangotri, End at Sonprayag for Kedarnath route, End at Joshimath for Badrinath route
Website	http://www.indianrailways.gov.in
Service
System	Broad Gauge
Services	Two separate Y-fork railways with a total of four individual routes
Operator(s)	Indian Railways
Technical
Line length	327 km (203 mi)
Track length	327 km (203 mi)
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6.0 in)
Highest elevation	1,733 m (5,686 ft)

The Char Dham Railway, the Indian Railways's under construction twin railway lines, will complement the Char Dham Highway project by connecting the holiest places of Hinduism called Chota Char Dham, from the existing Doiwala railway station near Dehradun to Gangotri and Yamunotri via a fork at Uttarkashi and another set of twin rail links from the upcoming railway station at Karnaprayag to Kedarnath and Badrinath via a fork at Saikot. The line is also of strategic military importance and has been designated a national project.

Railway routes

The Char Dham Railway has two different Y-shaped railways, with total of the following four individual rail lines:

• A. Gangotri–Yamunotri spurs: Main spur will go to Gangotri which will also Y–fork for another spur to Yamunotri.

• • A1. Doiwala–Dehradun–Uttarkashi–Maneri Gangotri Railway 131 km long route will have the following 11 stations: Doiwala, Sangatiyawala Khurd, Sarangdharwala, Ampata, Maror, Kandisaur, Chinyalisaur, Dunda, Athali, Ladari and Maneri. Pilgrims will road transport from Maneri to Harsil-Gangotri via NH-34. This will take the railway and Char Dham road highway at Gangotri closer to the large disputed India-China border area of Nelang Valley which is currently in India's operational control. Maneri to Gangotri is further 84 km.

• • A2. Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway, 22 km long route will make a "Y" fork connection at Athali from the Gangotri railway above to reach at Palar railway station from where pilgrims will wtake road and track to Yamunotri. Palar to Yamunotri is further 42 km.

• B. Kedarnath–Badrinath spurs: Main spur will go to Kedarnath which will also Y–fork for another spur to Badrinath.

• • B1. Karnaprayag–Saikot–Sonprayag Kedarnath Railway 99 km long route will have the following 7 stations: Karnaprayag, Siwai, Saikot, Bairath, Chopta, Makkumath and Sonprayag. Pilgrims will walk 19 km from Sonprayag to Kedarnath

• • B2. Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway, 75 km long route will make a "Y" fork connection at Saikot from the Kedarnath railway above to Joshimath. It will have the following 4 stations: Saikot, Tripak, Tartoli and Joshimath. Pilgrims will walk 37 km from Joshimath to Badrinath. This will take the railway and Char Dham road highway at Badrinath closer to the disputed valley on India-China border area of Bara Hoti which is currently in India's operational control.

• Note: Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway is also an under construction new railway link extension from the exiting Rishikesh railway station to Karnaprayag. It will have the following 11 stations: Rishikesh, Shivpuri, Byasi, Devprayag, Maletha, Srinagar, Dhari, Rudraprayag, Gholtir, Gauchar, Karnaprayag.

Strategic importance

Once this railway line is completed, India-China border will be closer to the rest of India by railways. 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.

Challenges

After the Konkan Railway, Hassan–Mangalore line and Jammu–Baramulla line, this line will be the most challenging railway project in Indian Railways due to mountainous terrain, a large number of tunnels and high bridges and severe cold weather in flood, landslide and earthquake prone high altitude mountainous area.

Current status

Char Dham Railway project's 327 km long construction, costing ₹43,292 crore (USD $6.6 billion), began with the foundation stone laying and commencement of ₹120 crore Final Location Survey (FSL) in May 2017 by the Union Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu. 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. As of July, 2020 New Rishikesh railway station is ready and operational. Bridge over Chandrabhaga river is being laid. Also a bridge over Alaknanda river in Tehri is under construction. Both these bridges will be ready by 2021 as per plan. Land for all railway stations is acquired and work is going on in small phases over the entire route.

See also

• Char Dham Highway
• Diamond Quadrilateral railway project
• Golden Quadrilateral road project
• Setu Bharatam railway crossing-free flyover and underpass project
• New geostrategic rail lines of India under construction