RVNL Achieves the 41st Tunnel Breakthrough on the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Rail Line

12 September 2026National

Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) achieved the 41st tunnel breakthrough of the 125-km Rishikesh-Karnaprayag new broad gauge line on 11 September 2026, completing the 10.847-km Escape Tunnel-1, the project's second-longest tunnel. The alignment runs through highly tectonised, multi-folded and faulted Himalayan rock close to the Main Boundary Thrust, producing thick mylonite zones that made excavation difficult. The roughly Rs 37,000 crore project in Uttarakhand is about 78% complete, with nearly 97% of tunnelling finished and five breakthroughs left. It will cut travel time sharply and improve all-weather access to the Char Dham shrines.

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Rail Vikas Nigam Limited was incorporated in 2003 under the Ministry of Railways and holds Navratna status | The Main Boundary Thrust separates the Lesser Himalaya from the Shiwalik range | Uttarakhand was created on 9 November 2000 with Dehradun as its capital

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