Prabhu lays foundation stone for Char Dham rail link location survey

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu today laid the foundation stone in Badrinath for the final location survey of an ambitious Rs 43,000-crore project to link the four important Hindu shrines in the hills of Uttarakhand.
The Char Dham rail circuit will enable devotees to visit the famous Himalayan shrines -- Gangotri, Yamunotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath-- even in adverse climatic conditions, Prabhu said.
Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who accompanied the union minister at the foundation laying ceremony, described the proposed project as a milestone in the development of the state.
For Gangotri and Yamunotri, the railway line will start from Doiwala near Dehradun, while for Kedarnath and Badrinath, it will start from Karnaprayag.

According to officials of the Railway ministry the Doiwala-Gangotri line will be 131 km long and for Yamunotri another 22 km of tracks will be laid from Maneri.
For Kedarnath, a 99 km rail link will be laid between Karnaprayag and Sonprayag and for Badrinath another 75 km long track will be laid between Karnaprayag and Joshimath.

An estimated Rs 43,292 crore is likely to be spent on the project, they said.
Earlier, accompanied by Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and the chief minister, Prabhu paid obeisance at the Badrinath shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu.
The Agriculture Minister also laid the foundation stone of a agricultural science centre near Joshimath.