Rs 458 crore for rail projects in state: GM

DEHRADUN: AK Puthia, General Manager, Northern Railway, while speaking on the sidelines of a function held at Oak Grove School, Mussoorie, yesterday said Rs 458 crore had been sanctioned for the development of the railway network in Uttarakhand and the first phase of the work had begun.

AK Puthia, General Manager, Northern Railway, in Mussoorie on Saturday.

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 23

AK Puthia, General Manager, Northern Railway, while speaking on the sidelines of a function held at Oak Grove School, Mussoorie, yesterday said Rs 458 crore had been sanctioned for the development of the railway network in Uttarakhand and the first phase of the work had begun.

Puthia affirmed that the Char Dham yatra would relate to the Railways in the near future, ensuring a convenient journey for pilgrims. He said the budget for the development of the railway infrastructure in Uttarakhand had been increased from Rs 187 crore to Rs 421 crore, (Rs 458 crore in total) a 124 per cent increase over past allocations. These funds would be spent on doubling railway lines, increasing loop length and electrification. The work of doubling of railway lines from Dehradun to Haridwar was in progress and would be completed by 2017. The work of loop line construction was going on and the Railways was also working towards 18 coach train’s entry till Raiwala, which would be extended to Harrawala.

He said a 24-coach train comes till Haridwar and efforts were on to bring 18-coach trains to Dehradun for which the work was on at Motichur and Doiwala. The waiting room at Dehradun would be fitted with air-condition facilities while two lifts and four escalators would be installed at the Dehradun platform. At Haridwar, four lifts and six escalators would be installed subsequently. The work at Dehradun would be completed by December while the work at Haridwar would be completed by March 2017.

About the Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway line, he said the Railways had received the approval for the work under the phase-1 of the project till the Chandrabhaga river. The phase-II will begin after the completion of the work under the phase-1. The new Risihikesh station would be completed by 2017. Puthia said the first survey report to connect Char Dham with trains had been submitted along with the a report by the RBNL. After a detailed discussion the work on it would begin soon. The government would spend Rs 44,000 crore on the project.

He said to curb wild animals deaths in train accidents near the Rajaji National Park, the Railways was planning to use an appropriate technology. Moradabad DRM Pramod Kumar and the principal of Oak Grove School were present.