Uttarakhand Government to build 12 railway stations on Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail route

The Uttarakhand Government has planned to build 12 railway stations on the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail route inspired by the pahadi-style architecture. Of these 12, one will have resemblance to the Kedarnath shrine to be established in Rishikesh, the first station on the route. As reported, the rail route will act as a bridge between the hills and plains, and bolster tourism and local economy. The Chief Minister of Uttarakhand has reportedly asked the Rail Vikas Nigam (RVNL) to construct the railway stations based on various themes representing the state’s culture. Work on the Rs 162.16-billion project has recently begun, which was initially announced in 1996. Char Dham yatra devotees will be able to reach Karnaprayag in Chamoli district to visit Kedarnath and Badrinath by using the 125 km rail link. RVNL will reportedly construct the Rishikesh station based on Kedarnath; plans for the remaining 11 stations still need to be panned out. In order to bring out the state’s culture, tradition and its prominent personalities, murals will be made near the railway stations. The 12 new stations that are expected to come up on the route are Byassi, Devprayag, Meetha, Srinagar, Dhari Devi, Rudraprayag, New Rishikesh, Virabhadra, Karnaprayag, Gauchar, Shivpuri and Gholtir. The state has plans to complete work on the Virbhadra-New Rishikesh line by 2019-20, Rishikesh-Devprayag route by 2023-24 and Devprayag-Karnaprayag railway line by 2024-25.