DEHRADUN, INDIA, May 13, 2017 (Times of India): In major welcome news for Uttarakhand, railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday laid the foundation at Badrinath for the final location survey for a single broad gauge line rail system on the Char Dham pilgrimage route. This follows the start of a project to create an all-weather road for the same route.
Prabhu, who first flew to Kedarnath to offer prayers, came to Badrinath in a chopper to pay obeisance. Later, in the presence of CM Trivendra Singh Rawat and Union Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh, he laid the foundation stone for the ambitious project worth US$6.7 billion. The route length of 203 miles through rough Himalayan terrain is likely to have 21 new station, 61 tunnels, totalling of 173 miles tunnel length and 59 bridges. On the occasion, Prabhu said, “The project will benefit the tourists as well as the locals. It will help people in the hills travel from one place to another.”