Dhami meets Railway Minister, requests to start rail services in Tanakpur and Ramnagar, demand for Vande Bharat between Haridwar-Varanasi
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami also requested the Railway Minister to approve the construction of the tunnel-based rail line project and the Rishikesh-Uttarkashi rail line project to connect Dehradun to Saharanpur via Mohand.
Request to start Haridwar-Varanasi train
Urging the Union Railway Minister to give budget for Vande Bharat Rail from Haridwar to Varanasi, the Chief Minister said that this would provide great convenience to the devotees and tourists. Expressing gratitude for the cooperation received in the past, Chief Minister Dhami urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav to bear the entire cost of the Kichha-Khatima new rail line project by the Government of India. He requested that Ramnagar-Haridwar-Dehradun direct train service should be operated.
Request to start Tanakpur-Dehradun Janshatabdi Rail
The Chief Minister also requested the Railway Minister to start operation of sufficient number of train services from various places of the country mainly New Delhi, Mathura and Lucknow etc. to Tanakpur for the remaining duration of Purnagiri fair. The Chief Minister while discussing with the Railway Minister on rail services in Uttarakhand said that at present Dehradun-Kathgodam Janshatabdi is the only rail service to connect Kumaon and Garhwal. Due to the presence of a large part of the Kumaon region as well as the Nepal border, the traffic of the people there also happens from Tanakpur only. That’s why it is necessary to operate a Janshatabdi train service between Tanakpur-Dehradun.
Delhi – Ramnagar Shatabdi Express train service request
The Chief Minister said that the famous tourist destination Jim Corbett National Park, located under Ramnagar area of Nainital district of the state, receives constant movement of tourists from the country and abroad. Therefore, it is necessary to operate the Delhi-Ramnagar Shatabdi Express train service. The Chief Minister said that at present one has to go through Haridwar to travel by train from Dehradun to New Delhi. Haridwar-Dehradun rail line is single lane. Due to the fact that most of the part from Dehradun to Haridwar is under the Rajaji National Park, the speed of the train is also highly controlled from the point of view of the safety of wildlife. That’s why the whole journey takes relatively more time.
CM Dhami said that if the railway line is built from Dehradun to Saharanpur via Mohand, some part of which will be through tunnel, then the movement between New Delhi and Dehradun by rail will also become faster. As a result, apart from facilitating the movement of tourists in the state, commercial activities will also get a boost.
The Chief Minister said that similar to the tunnel system being adopted in the Rishikesh-Karnprayag rail project, to connect Dehradun to Saharanpur with the railway via Mohand, the project should be approved after examining the feasibility of the tunnel-based rail line project.
