The Char Dham Railway, the

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

's under construction twin

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

s, will complement the Char Dham Highway project by connecting the holiest places of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

called

Chota Char Dham The Chota Char Dham (literally translated as 'the small four abodes/seats', meaning 'the small circuit of four abodes/seats'), is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit in Uttarakhand, in the Indian Himalayas. Located in the Garhwal region ...

, from the existing Doiwala railway station near Dehradun to Gangotri and Yamunotri via a fork at

Uttarkashi Uttarkashi, meaning Varanasi, Kashi of the north, is a town located in Uttarkashi district in Uttarakhand, India. Uttarkashi town is headquarters of the district. Uttarkashi is also known as Somya Kashi. Uttarkashi is a religious place for spir ...

and another set of twin rail links from the upcoming railway station at

Karnaprayag Karnaprayag is a town and municipal board in the Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Karnaprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, situated at the confluence of the Alaknanda and Pindar River. Dem ...

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote of t ...

and

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

via a fork at

Saikot Saikot ( Garhwali: सैकोट) is a village in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand state in India. Situated on the banks of Alaknanda River, it is a proposed y-forked railway junction on Chota Char Dham Railway for two different railways g ...

. The line is also of strategic military importance and has been designated a national project.Chardham to get rail connectivity; Indian Railways pilgrimage linking project to cost Rs 43.29k crore, India.com, 12-May-2017
/ref>Railway minister lays foundation stone for final location survey on char dham route, India Times news, 13-May-2017
/ref>

Railway routes

Existing railheads

At present, the relevant railway lines are as follows: *From the Raiwala Junction railway station, one line goes in north-west direction via Doiwala Railway Station and terminates in Dehradun; another line goes in north-east direction to terminate in Rishikesh (at the new Yog Nagari Rishikesh railway station, the old Rishikesh railway station being almost defunct). *The

Rishikesh–Karnaprayag line The Rishikesh–Karnaprayag line is an under-construction railway line, which will run from Yog Nagari Rishikesh railway station in Rishikesh to Karnaprayag. It is Indian Railways' proposed route for the Char Dham Railway to connect the Char D ...

is already under construction, to extend the railway network beyond Yog Nagari Rishikesh railway station, and upon completion,

will become the terminal point *The Chaar Dhaam Railway will consist of two different railway lines: **one taking off from the existing railhead at Doiwala and going towards Gangotri, with a fork towards Yamunotri **the other taking off from the forthcoming railhead at

and going towards

, with a fork towards

Proposed new lines

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 Junction, Ladari and Maneri. Pilgrims will road transport from Maneri to

Harsil Harsil, the Himalayan paradise, is a village, tourist hill station and army area located on the banks of the Bhagirathi River, on the way to Gangotri, a Hindu pilgrimage site in Uttarkashi district of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Situated ...

- 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.Achilles Heel in India's Border Defence with China!

Indian Defence Review Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, 20 June 2017. Maneri to Gangotri is a further 84 km. ** A2. Uttarkashi–Palar Yamunotri Railway, 22 km long route will make a "Y" fork connection at Athali Junction from the Gangotri railway above to reach Palar railway station, from where pilgrims will take road and track to Yamunotri. Palar to Yamunotri is a 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:

, Siwai,

Junction, Bairath,

Chopta Chopta is a small region of meadows and evergreen forest area, a part of Kedarnath wildlife sanctuary located in Uttarakhand state, India and a base for trekking to Tungnath, the third temple of Panch Kedar which lies away. Located at a dist ...

, Makkumath and

Sonprayag Sonprayag is a village in the Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand state in India. Approx. 73 Kilometres from Rudraprayag, Rudraprayag Town, the district headquarter. Situated on the banks of river Mandakini River, it is a proposed Y-forked railw ...

near Gaurikund. The distance from Sonprayag to Kedarnath is 19 km. The 6 km stretch from Sonprayag to Gaurikund is paved and motorable, whereas the remaining 13-14 km is a mountainous track, which must be done either on foot, or by

palanquin The litter is a class of wheelless vehicles, a type of human-powered transport, for the transport of people. Smaller litters may take the form of open chairs or beds carried by two or more carriers, some being enclosed for protection from the el ...

, or on pony-back. ** B2. Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway, 75 km long route will make a "Y" fork connection at

from the Kedarnath railway above to

Joshimath Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath, is a city and a municipal board in Chamoli District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Located at a height of 6150 feet (1875 m), it is a gateway to several Himalayan mountain climbing expeditions, trekki ...

. It will have the following 4 stations: Saikot Junction, Tripak, Tartoli and

. Pilgrims will travel the 37 km from Joshimath to

by the existing all-weather road. This will take the railway network closer to the disputed India-China border area of Bara Hoti valley, which is currently in India's operational control, and make it easier to supply equipment and troops to that border post.After 24 years of work, strategic military outpost near India-China border connected with motorable road

Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest se ...

, 11 Nov 2016. * Note: Rishikesh–Karnaprayag Railway is also an under construction new railway link extension from the exiting Rishikesh railway station to

. It will have the following 11 stations: Rishikesh, Shivpuri, Byasi,

Devprayag Devprayag (Deva prayāga) is a town and a nagar panchayat, near New Tehri, New Tehri city in Tehri Garhwal district, Tehri Garhwal District in the state of Uttarakhand, India, and is the final one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alak ...

, Maletha, Srinagar, Dhari,

Rudraprayag Rudraprayag is a town and a municipality in Rudraprayag district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag is one of the Panch Prayag (five confluences) of Alaknanda River, the point of confluence of rivers Alaknanda and Mandakini. K ...

, Gholtir, Gauchar,

.Coming soon: India’s longest railway tunnel on Rishikesh–Karnaprayag route, Hindustan Times news, 19-Sept-2016
/ref>

Strategic importance

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

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. The time taken to reach the strategic border military stations from

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

will be reduced by providing safe and quick mode of public transport for personnel and equipment.

Challenges

After the

Konkan Railway The Konkan Railway (abbreviated KR) is one of the 19 railway zones in India with its headquarters at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The first passenger train ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993, between Udupi and ...

, Hassan–Mangalore line and Jammu–Baramulla line, this line will be the most challenging railway project in

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 Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu (born 11 July 1953) is an Indian politician, India's Sherpa (emissary), Sherpa to the G7 anChancellor of Rishihood University who was the Ministry of Civil Aviation (India), Minister of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Rail ...

. 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 The Bhima River (also known as Chandrabhaga River) is a major river in Western India and South India. It flows southeast for through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana states, before entering the Krishna River. After the first sixty-five ki ...

is being laid. Also a bridge over

Alaknanda river The Alaknanda is a Himalayan river in the Indian state of Uttarakhand and one of the two headstreams of the Ganges, the major river of Northern India and the holy river of Hinduism. In hydrology, the Alaknanda is considered the source stream ...

Tehri New Tehri is a city and a municipal board in Tehri Garhwal District in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the administrative headquarters of Tehri Garhwal District. This urban municipality area has 11 wards, from Vidhi Vihar to Vishwakarma P ...

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.Good news for Chardham rail line, approved budget for this big work
18 January 2018.

References

{{Railways in Northern India Rail transport in Uttarakhand * Proposed railway lines in India Modi administration initiatives