Uttarakhand receives 18 new trains in last 3 years: Vaishnaw – myuttarakhandnews.com | Uttarakhand News in English | Dehradun News Today| News Uttarakhand | Uttarakhand latest news

PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun The minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw has claimed substantial boost in budgetary allocations for infrastructure projects and safety-related works in Uttarakhand. The annual expenditure in Uttarakhand has risen from Rs 187 crore on an average during 2009-14 to approximately Rs 4,641 crore in 2025-26, representing a nearly 25-fold increase. Vaishnaw made this statement on Wednesday while responding to the questions from Haridwar MP Trivendra Singh Rawat and Nainital- Udham Singh Nagar MP Ajay Bhatt in Lok Sabha on Wednesday, regarding rail projects in Uttarakhand.  He said that Indian Railways has introduced 18 new train services between 2023–24 and 2025–26 (up to February 2026) to enhance passenger convenience in Uttarakhand. The introduction of new train services is based on route capacity, availability of rolling stock and other operational requirements. Overall, extensive work is being carried out for railway development in Uttarakhand, which includes the construction of new rail lines and station modernization, all aimed at providing improved rail connectivity to the State, particularly in its hilly regions, he added. In his response, the minister highlighted that as of April 1, 2025, approval has been granted for three new railway lines—either wholly or partially located within Uttarakhand—spanning a total length of 216 kilometres at an estimated cost of Rs 40,384 crore. Among these, 16 kilometres of railway line have already been commissioned, with Rs 19,898 crore spent as of March 2025. He further informed that additionally, the Rishikesh–Karnaprayag railway line, spanning 125 km, traverses the districts of Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag and Chamoli, connecting religious sites such as Devprayag and Karnaprayag with Rishikesh and the National Capital. This project primarily involves the construction of tunnels, with proposals for 16 main tunnels totalling 104 kilometers and 12 escape tunnels spanning approximately 98 kilometers. To date, 99 kilometers of main tunnels and 94 kilometers of escape tunnels have been completed. To expedite the project, eight access roads, totalling five km, have been constructed and are now complete. Out of 19 major bridges, the construction of eight has been completed, while work on the remaining bridges is still in progress. He said that over the past three years—from 2022-23 to 2025-26—seven surveys covering a total length of 441 kilometers have been sanctioned in Uttarakhand. These include three new line projects and four doubling projects. As of February 1, 2026, a total of 4,802 bridges have been sanctioned across the Indian Railways including nine bridges in Uttarakhand, which are currently in various stages of execution and sanctioned at a cost of Rs 158 crore.  “ Under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, the Ministry of Railways has planned the redevelopment of 1,338 stations nationwide, including 11 stations in Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Haridwar, Harrawala, Kashipur, among others. Initiatives under this scheme encompass improvements to station infrastructure and upgraded waiting areas, among others,” said Vaishnaw.