Dehradun Railway Station Ceases All Operations For Three Months

Dehradun railway station has been shut down for the next three months to carry out maintenance and renovation works at the station. By Ritika Dixit

Travellers in a major part of Uttarakhand might face inconveniences in the coming three months as the Dehradun railway station will remain shut for maintenance and renovation works. Commuters will have to travel via road from the city to the nearest operational railway station, Harrawala. This station is at a distance of approximately 12 km from the state’s capital.

Important trains like Shatabdi and Nanda Devi Express will run from Harrawala railway station till December 24, 2019. Starting from December 25, 2019, till February 7, 2020, these trains will commence and terminate at Haridwar railway station instead. Nearly 16 other trains will culminate at Haridwar or other railway stations near Dehradun. However, other trains, namely Varanasi-Dehradun, Indore-Dehradun, Okha-Dehradun, Mussoorie Express, Ujjain-Dehradun among many others will remain cancelled for the next three months till February 7, 2019.

The shutting down of Dehradun Railway Station is feared to have some negative effect on the revenue statistics of the state’s tourism industry. This is because railway operations are being put to a break during the peak season, when a large number of tourists visit places near Dehradun like Mussoorie, Dhanaulti and Chakrata for snowfall during their winter holidays.

Other major problems with the decision includes the unavailability of public transport and lack of refreshment facilities at the Harrawala railway station. On the contrary, officials maintain that the remodelling will allow bigger 18-coach trains to halt at the station once the remodelling work is complete. Operations at the remodelled Dehradun railway station will resume from February 7, 2019.

Related: India’s First Ever Underwater Bullet Train To Start Operations by 2022

Written By