Char Dham Railway

Char Dham Railway
चार धाम रेलवे
Overview
System Broad Gauge
Status Proposed
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
Services Two separate Y-fork railways with a total of four individual routes
Website http://www.indianrailways.gov.in
Operation
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 (Hindi: चार धाम रेलवे) is Indian Railways's proposed twin railway lines, will compliment 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 designated a national project.[1][2]

Railway routes

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

Strategic 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.[1]

Challenges

After the Konkan Railway and Jammu–Baramulla line, this line will be the most challenging railway project in Indian Railways due to high mountains, a large number of tunnels and high bridges and severe cold weather in flood, landslide and earthquake prone high altitude mountainous area.[1][2]

Current status

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.[1][2] 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.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Chardham to get rail connectivity; Indian Railways pilgrimage linking project to cost Rs 43.29k crore, India.com, 12-May-2017
  2. 1 2 3 Railway minister lays foundation stone for final location survey on char dham route, India Times news, 13-May-2017
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Good news for Chardham rail line, approved budget for this big work, Live Hindustan, 18 January 2018.
  4. ↑ 采编 (2005-11-26). "中印边境自卫反击作战史". 中国国防资讯网. Retrieved 2005-11-26.
  5. 1 2 Achilles Heel in India's Border Defence with China!, Indian Defence Review, 20 June 2017.
  6. ↑ After 24 years of work, strategic military outpost near India-China border connected with motorable road, Times of India, 11 Nov 2016.
  7. ↑ Coming soon: India’s longest railway tunnel on Rishikesh–Karnaprayag route, Hindustan Times news, 19-Sept-2016
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