The Rishikesh-Karnprayag Rail Project, a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being built at a cost of ₹16216 crore. Over ₹10748.29 crore has been spent on the project so far. The project is 71% complete in terms of tunnel excavation. The 125 km long project between Rishikesh and Karnprayag...
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will have 104 km of rail line passing through 17 tunnels. In addition to these 17 tunnels, the project also includes 12 exit tunnels, as well as adits and cross passages, making the total tunnel length 213 km. So far, 150.809 km of tunnel excavation has been completed out of a total of 213.277 km. The Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL), the executing agency, is also progressing with the final lining of the tunnels as the excavation work is completed. The RVNL has now invited bids for the laying of the railway track on the Karnprayag rail project. The bids will be awarded on February 24th and the construction of the rail track is expected to begin a month later. The railway track will be a blastless track, similar to those used in metro rail systems or railway stations, instead of the traditional blasted track made with stone ballast. This is due to the fact that 104 km of the rail line will pass through tunnels. While the track within the tunnels will be blastless, the section of the track outside the tunnels will be built using the traditional blasted technique. The total track length will be 133 km blastless and 42 km blasted. Blastless tracks are more robust and require less maintenance.