The survey for the 170 km Tanakpur–Bageshwar railway line has been completed, and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared. The estimated cost of the project is ₹48,692 crore, though the traffic potential has been found to be limited.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared this information in the Lok Sabha while responding to a question by Nainital–Udham Singh Nagar MP Ajay Bhatt. He stated that after preparing the DPR, consultations with state governments and other stakeholders are required, followed by approvals from the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance. Since project approvals are an ongoing process, no fixed timeline has been provided.
The minister also highlighted that railway infrastructure funding in Uttarakhand has seen a nearly 25-fold increase. From an annual allocation of ₹187 crore in 2009–2014, it has now risen to ₹4,641 crore in 2025–26. As of April 1, 2025, three new railway lines totaling 216 km in length, with a combined cost of ₹40,384 crore, have been sanctioned in the state.
The Deoband–Roorkee new rail line (27 km) has been completed, reducing the Delhi–Dehradun distance by around 40 km. Work on the Rishikesh–Karnaprayag rail line (125 km) is progressing rapidly, with 199 km of tunneling out of 213 km already finished.
In addition, Dehradun, Haridwar Junction, Harrawala, Kashipur Junction, Kathgodam, Kichha, Kotdwar, Lalkuan Junction, Ramnagar, Roorkee, and Tanakpur stations have been selected for redevelopment under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. Between 2014 and 2025, 106 road overbridges and underbridges were constructed in Uttarakhand, with nine more bridges recently approved at a cost of ₹158 crore.
