Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line: The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag new railway line is one of the prestigious projects undertaken by Indian Railways (IR). This new rail projects lies completely in Uttarakhand and passes through difficult geological and challenging terrain of Himalayas. On completion, the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail link project will transform connectivity in the hilly state.
Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Railway Line, Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Link Project
The 125-km-long Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway line passes through five districts of Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli. This rail link project will provide connectivity to Devprayag and Karnaprayag religious and tourist spots with Rishikesh and Delhi.
Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Project Tunnel Completion
The Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project alignment passes predominantly through tunnels. The project involves construction of 16 main line tunnels of 105 km length and 12 escape tunnels of about 98 km length.
Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Railway Line Status, Rishikesh Karnaprayag Railway Project Status
On Wednesday, July 30, 2025, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply that the construction of Rishikesh-Karnaprayag railway project is underway with the completion of 13 main line tunnels and nine escape tunnels. He also added that to increase progress of works, eight Adits have also been identified in various tunnels.
“So far, 13 main line tunnels and 9 escape tunnels have been completed. To increase progress of works, 08 Adits in various tunnels were also identified. These adits created additional work faces of tunnel excavation expediting early completion of long tunnels. Works of all 8 Adits have also been completed,” Vaishnaw said.
Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Tunnel Breakthrough
The Union Minister further said that tunneling works of 199 km has been completed. “Accordingly, tunneling of 199 Km against total scope of 213 Km has been completed. For the first time in Indian Railways, Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was deployed in the Himalayan Geology for faster execution of works of longest tunnel (T-8) which is 14.8Km long. B
Breakthrough of this tunnel through TBM has been achieved. The tunneling is being carried out with all precautions and latest technologies to ensure minimum damage to ecology and surrounding,” he added.
