Rishikesh–Karnaprayag line

Satpal Maharaj inaugurated a survey to this project as a Union Minister and Minister of Railways of State of Uttar Pradesh (now, in Uttarakhand) in 1996.[3][4][5] The project got budget allocation and other clearances from the government and was said to be the longest tunnel rail project in the country, which would play a vital role in the security of the country and the livelihood of the people of Uttarakhand.[6] The Rishikesh to Karnprayag Rail Line is proposed to serve a very vital role in the country, for prompt movement of the army (as the geographical location of the line is near the India-China Border), pilgrims, and locals.[7] The foundation stone for the project survey was led down by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, on 9 November 2011, but the work started in 2015 during the NDA government in the center.[8] The survey of the 125-kilometer long railway project was completed around the year 2013,[9] however, the project was delayed as the state ministers postponed the provision of necessary land to Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) for the commencement of the project construction due to non-finalization of land acquisition rules of Uttarakhand.[10]

The old Rishikesh railway station (RKSH) is located inside the town, so the railway line could not be extended through densely inhabited areas. Therefore, a new railway line was built from the Virbhadra railway station and a new highly-facilitated Yog Nagari Rishikesh railway station (YNRK) was built in 2020. The 125 km long Rishikesh–Karnaprayag route starts at Yog Nagari Rishikesh at 385m AMSL and ends at Karnaprayag 825m AMSL.[11] The ₹16,200 crore project will reduce Rishikesh to Karnaprayag travel time from 6-7 hours to 2.5 hours. It will have 16 bridges and 105 km or 85% of the project inside tunnels. A 15.1 km tunnel, reported to be the country's longest, will be built between Devprayag and Lachmoli on the route.[11]

As per the letter issued to the Uttarakhand government by RVNL, the sites where railway stations will come up are — Yog Nagari Rishikesh in Rishikesh, Dehradun district, Srinagar, Tehri, Shivpuri and Byasi in Tehri district, Devprayag and Dungripanth (Dhari devi) in Pauri, Rudraprayag and Gholtir in Rudraprayag district, and Gaucher and Karanprayag in Chamoli district. The proposed 125-kilometer stretch will have 12 stations, 17 tunnels and 35 bridges. It will be constructed for Rs 16,216 crore and is expected to be completed by 2024-25.

The design consultancy contracts for tunnel and bridge construction were awarded in 2019. Italferr S.p.A., the engineering arm of FS Italiane Group, as part of a joint venture with Swiss firm Lombardi SA, has been awarded the contract for the executive design and works supervision of a first 12 km long section (running almost entirely through tunnels) of the “Himalaya Tunnel”, for the Rishikesh–Karnaprayag railway in the State of Uttarakhand.[12] The construction has started in 2019. Work for the first block section from Virbhadra railway station to Yog Nagari Rishikesh commenced in June 2018 and was completed in 2020.

Package 8 Spreads between Ratura to Gauchar - It consists of 3 Railway, Bride 2 Main Tunnels along with Escape Tunnel. A Adit T15-Adit is located near Kameda, Gauchar (Chamoli). Package 9 spreads between Gauchar to Sivai - it consists of 3 railway bridges, 1 main tunnel along with an escape tunnel, tunnel consists 750 meters triple-track because of the station yard. It consists of Karnprayag yard & A minor tunnel after yard.

In 1910, when Joseph Clay took over the charge of District Collector in Garhwal Division, he got the Karanprayag-Rishikesh railway line surveyed. At that time, a total amount of ₹ 400000 was spent in this work, in which 90% of the route was surveyed in the areas mentioned by Clay. Unfortunately, the British government of the then India kept the narrow proposals of this train in cold storage, citing lack of funds. And after that, unfortunately, the start of the World War and Joseph Clay was transferred to the Gorakhpur division of the United Provinces, due to which it was ignored.

And apart from this on 5 December 1914, India's first Victoria Cross winner Darban Singh Negi demand of rail route to Karanprayag in memory of the First World War and its martyrs.