RISHIKESH-KARNAPRAYAG RAILWAY LINE

In 2019, Italferr, lead of a grouping with Swiss engineering company Lombardi, was awarded two design and project management consulting contracts as part of the new Rishikesh-Karanprayang railway line in Uttarakhand, in the north of the country. The project consists in the construction of a total of 125 km of new railway link, with a predominantly underground development (105 km running in 17 tunnels), travelling parallel to the riverbed of the Ganges River and penetrating the Himalayan mountain system.

The first contract awarded, Package 1, provides design and project management consulting services for 12 km, including a tunnel about 11 km long and a station at Shivpuri. This is the first section, almost entirely in tunnels, of the new Indian line.  

The second contract, Package 8, provides design and project management consulting services for 16 km, including two tunnels 6 and 7 km long, and two stations at Golthir and Gauchar.

The two initiatives, with original durations of 80 and 84 months respectively, were scheduled for completion in 2026. Currently, for Package 1, a construction time extension of about 26 months (October 2027) has been granted, while for Package 8, the contractor's request for an extension of about 30 months is being evaluated.

Client: RVNL, Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (a special purpose company of Indian Railways, owned by the Government of India).