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Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL) achieved the 41st tunnel breakthrough of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project on 11 September 2026, completing Escape Tunnel-1.
Escape Tunnel-1 runs 10.847 km, making it the second-longest tunnel on the project after the 14.57-km Devprayag-Janasu tunnel, India's longest rail tunnel.
The 125-km broad-gauge line in Uttarakhand is estimated to cost Rs 37,000 crore and is targeted for completion in December 2029.
Physical progress stands at about 78%, with roughly 97% of tunnel excavation done and five breakthroughs still to go.
Breakthrough of the 14.57-km Devprayag-Janasu tunnel, India's longest rail tunnel, bored by L&T using the TBM 'Shakti'
Saleem Ahmad takes charge as Chairman and Managing Director of RVNL
41st breakthrough: Escape Tunnel-1 (10.847 km) completed
Target completion of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag line
Central PSU that executes railway infrastructure projects, including this line
An escape tunnel runs parallel to the main rail tunnel for rescue, ventilation and maintenance access. The Main Boundary Thrust is a major Himalayan fault separating the Lesser Himalaya from the Siwaliks; rock near it is crushed and sheared, which makes tunnelling slow and support-heavy.
Simple Analogy: A fire exit beside the main corridor, dug through broken rock instead of brick.
The line climbs from Rishikesh in Dehradun district along the Alaknanda-Ganga valleys through Devprayag, Srinagar and Rudraprayag to Karnaprayag in Chamoli district, improving access to the Char Dham pilgrimage belt and border areas of Uttarakhand.
General Awareness > Indian Railways projects and PSUs
GS Paper III > Infrastructure; GS Paper I > Himalayan geology and geography
The moment excavation from opposite faces meets and the tunnel becomes continuous
A major Himalayan fault along which the Lesser Himalaya has been thrust over the Siwalik range
A fine-grained rock formed where intense shearing along a fault has ground the original rock down