Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line: In a major boost to rail travel in Uttarakhand, the government-led PSU Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) is set to complete the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail line by December 2026. Envisioned as a strategic infrastructure project, the line will significantly reduce travel time between the plains and the Garhwal region, while improving access to pilgrimage towns, remote villages and border areas. Once operational, it is expected to ease pressure on road networks, enhance disaster response capabilities, and support tourism and economic development in the Himalayan state, officials said.
 
As a step towards that direction, the Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) has opened a tender for five stations of the Rishikesh-Karnprayag Rail project. Karnprayag station, which is set to be the biggest station of the rail project. A threshold period of three months has been given to the companies to start the construction work.
 
“Financial tenders have also been opened for the railway stations falling under Packages 2 and 4 of the project. Companies have been given three months to begin work,” said OP Malgudi, Deputy General Manager, Civil, RVNL, quoted by Jagran.com.

Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line: Details

- Length: 125.2 km

- There are 17 tunnels on this route covering 105 km of the route.

- Cost: Rs 16,216 crore

- Timeline: Work on the project began in 2019 and was set to be completed by 2025. However, due to operational concerns, the project has been postponed to December 2026.

- The route will also feature the longest tunnel, stretching for 14.08 kilometres between Devprayag and Janasu.

- It also has the shortest tunnel of 200 meters between Sevai and Karnaprayag.

- Once fully operational, travel time between Rishikesh and Karnaprayag is expected to drop from roughly 7 hours to approximately 2 hours.

- Route: The rail line will pass through Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudrapryag and Chamoli districts of Uttarakhand and will provide rail connectivity to the hilly regions of the state.

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Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line: Station List

There are 13 stations as part of the rail project:

- Birbhadra

- Yoganagari Rishikesh

- Shivpuri

- Vyasi

- Devprayag

- Janasu

- Maletha

- Srinagar 

- Dhari Devi

- Rudraprayag

- Gholtir

- Gauchar

- Karnaprayag