New Delhi [India], April 4 : Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami paid a courtesy visit to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav in New Delhi on Tuesday. The Chief Minister urged the Railway Minister to start a Janshatabdi train service between Tanakpur-Dehradun and Shatabdi Express train service between Delhi-Ramnagar.
CM 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 with the railway via Mohand.
Urging the Union Railway Minister to start Haridwar to Varanasi Vande Bharat rail service, 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 Vaishnav to bear the entire cost of the Kichha-Khatima new rail line project by the Government of India. He also requested for operating a direct rail service between Ramnagar-Haridwar and Dehradun.
An adequate number of train services should also be started from various places of the country mainly from New Delhi, Mathura and Lucknow to Tanakpur for the remaining period of Purnagiri fair.
While discussing with the Railway Minister on rail services in Uttarakhand, the CM said, "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."
Chief Minister said that the famous tourist destination Jim Corbett National Park, located under Ramnagar area of Nainital, receives constant movement of tourists from the country and abroad. Therefore, it is very necessary to operate the Delhi-Ramnagar Shatabdi Express train service.
Highlighting the difficulties of travelling between New Delhi to Dehradun Dhami explained Chief Minister said that at present one has to go through Haridwar to reach Dehradun from New Delhi by rail. The railway line between Haridwar and Dehradun is a single lane as most of the part comes under Rajaji National Park, so the speed of the train is highly controlled concerning wildlife safety. As a result, the entire journey takes a relatively longer time.
So If some parts of the rail line from Dehradun to Saharanpur via Mohand, will pass through a tunnel, it will increase the train speed cutting travel time.
Dhami who is on a two-day visit to the national capital paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. During his meeting, CM expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister for the government's extensive support for various externally aided projects and special assistance schemes for capital projects, including the approval of the Jamr Dam project for the development of the state.
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