Indian Railways has completed the electrification of Uttarakhand’s broad gauge network of 347 route km. This will result in 2.5 times lower line haul cost, heavier haulage capacity, increased sectional capacity, reduced operating and maintenance cost of electric loco. This will also mean energy efficient and eco-friendly mode of transportation and reduced dependence on imported crude oil and eventually saving of foreign exchange.
Uttarakhand falls under the jurisdiction of Northern and North Eastern Railways. Some of the major railway stations in Uttarakhand are Dehradun, Haridwar, Roorkee, Rishikesh, Kathgodam, and Tanakpur.
Some of these stations have religious importance and some are tourist attractive places. Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri, Gangotri, Hemkund Sahib, Mussoorie, Nainital, Jim Corbett and Haridwar are a few to name.
Kathgodam station is an important station with an annual passenger footfall of about 7 lakh and this terminating station acts as the entry of Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. The first train to this station reached on April 24, 1884, according to the statement.
Some of the prestigious trains of Uttarakhand state are Nanda Devi Express, Haridwar Express, Mussoorie Express, Utkal Express, Kumaon Express, Doon Express and Shatabdi Express. These trains provide convenient connectivity to various parts of the state and other major cities in India, helping greatly to state in tourism business.
Further, Rishikesh to Karnprayag, a new line work is under construction which will be another landmark achievement of Indian Railways, bringing Char Dham pilgrimage route on Indian Railways’ circuit. This route is sanctioned along with electrification, in sync with Railways’ policy of 100% electrified network.