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.[3] 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:
Karnaprayag, Siwai,
Saikot Junction, Bairath,
Chopta, Makkumath and
Sonprayag 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, or on pony-back.[3]
B2.Saikot–Joshimath Badrinath Railway, 75 km long route will make a "Y" fork connection at
Saikot from the Kedarnath railway above to
Joshimath. It will have the following 4 stations:
Saikot Junction, Tripak, Tartoli and
Joshimath. Pilgrims will travel the 37 km from Joshimath to
Badrinath by the existing all-weather road.[3] 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.[5][6]
Once this railway line is completed,
India-China border will be closer to the rest of India by
railways. 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,
Hassan–Mangalore line and
Jammu–Baramulla line, this line will be the most challenging railway project in
Indian Railways 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.[1][2]
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 RailwaysSuresh 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. As of July, 2020 New Rishikesh railway station is ready and operational. Bridge over
Chandrabhaga river is being laid. Also a bridge over
Alaknanda river in
Tehri 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.[3]