Parliament Question: Inadequate Rail Service for Pilgrims

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1763 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.12.2025 INADEQUATE RAIL SERVICE FOR PILGRIMS †1763. SHRI TRIVENDRA SINGH RAWAT: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether it is a fact the pilgrims are facing difficulties due to non- availability of adequate train services from Uttarakhand to major pilgrimage destinations such as Ganga, Kashi, Gaya, Puri and Gangasagar; (b) the number of trains presently operating directly or indirectly from Uttarakhand to the Ganga riverfront cities and Gangasagar pilgrimage; (c) whether the Government proposes to introduce new express or special pilgrim trains from Uttarakhand to Haridwar, Rishikesh, Dehradun, Kashi, Patna and Haldia/Kolkata (Gangasagar route) for the convenience of pilgrims; and (d) if so, the proposed routes, frequency, expected commencement dates and the steps being taken for coordination with the State Government for these proposed trains? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d) As the railway network straddles across State boundaries, trains are introduced, as per network requirement, across such boundaries. At present, Dehradun/Haridwar is connected to cities likeVaranasi (by 03 pairs), Gaya (by 01 pair), Puri (by 01 pair), Patna (by 02 pairs) and Kolkata (by 03 pairs) etc. Presently, Haridwar is served by 88 train services while Dehradun stations is served by 36 train services as under: Trains serving Haridwar station: Sl. Train No. Train Name 1 22457/22458 Anand Vihar (T) – Dehradun Vande Bharat Express 2 22545/22546 Lucknow – Dehradun Vande Bharat Express 3 12017/12018 New Delhi – Dehradun Shatabdi Express 4 12053/12054 Haridwar – Amritsar Jan Shatabdi Express 5 12055/12056 New Delhi – Dehradun Jan Shatabdi Express 6 12091/12092 Dehradun – Kathgodam Jan Shatabdi Express 7 12171/12172 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Haridwar Express 8 12327/12328 Howrah – Dehradun Upasana Express 9 12369/12370 Howrah – Dehradun Kumbh Express 10 12401/12402 Kota – Dehradun Nanda Devi Express 11 12911/12912 Valsad – Haridwar Express 12 13009/13010 Howrah – Yog Nagari Rishikesh Doon Express 13 14041/14042 Delhi – Dehradun Mussoorie Express 14 14113/14114 Subedarganj – Dehradun Express 15 14119/14120 Kathgodam – Dehradun Express 16 14229/14230 Prayagraj Sangam – Yog Nagri Rishikesh Express 17 14303/14304 Delhi – Haridwar Express18 14305/14306 Delhi – Haridwar Express 19 14309/14310 Laxmi Bai Nagar - Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 20 14317/14318 Laxmi Bai Nagar - Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 21 14605/14606 Yog Nagari Rishikesh – Jammu Tawi Express 22 14609/14610 Yog Nagari Rishikesh - SMVD Katra Express 23 14625/14626 Haridwar – Firozpur Cantt. Express 24 14631/14632 Dehradun – Amritsar Express 25 14717/14718 Bikaner – Haridwar Express 26 14815/14816 Shri Ganganagar – Rishikesh Express 27 14887/14888 Rishikesh – Barmer Express 28 15001/15002 Muzaffarpur – Dehradun Express 29 15005/15006 Gorakhpur – Dehradun Express 30 15019/15020 Dehradun – Tanakpur Express 31 15119/15120 Banaras – Dehradun Express 32 18477/18478 Puri – Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 33 19019/19020 Bandra (T) – Haridwar Express 34 19031/19032 Sabarmati – Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 35 19271/19272 Bhavnagar (T) – Haridwar Express 36 19565/19566 Okha – Dehradun Express 37 19609/19610 Udaipur City – Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 38 22659/22660 Thiruvananthapuram North – Yog Nagari Rishikesh Express 39 22917/22918 Bandra (T) – Haridwar Express40 54341/54342 Saharanpur – Dehradun Passenger 41 54463/54464 Chandausi – Rishikesh Passenger 42 54481/54482 Haridwar – Rishikesh Passenger 43 54483/54484 Haridwar – Rishikesh Passenger 44 64511/64512 Haridwar – Amb Andaura MEMU Trains serving Dehradun station: Sl. Train No. Train Name 1 22457/22458 Anand Vihar (T) – Dehradun Vande Bharat Express 2 22545/22546 Lucknow – Dehradun Vande Bharat Express 3 12017/12018 New Delhi – Dehradun Shatabdi Express 4 12055/12056 Dehradun – New Delhi Jan Shatabdi Express 5 12091/12092 Dehradun – Kathgodam Jan Shatabdi Express 6 12327/12328 Howrah – Dehradun Upasana Express 7 12369/12370 Howrah – Dehradun Kumbha Express 8 12401/12402 Kota – Dehradun Nanda Devi Express 9 14041/14042 Delhi – Dehradun Mussoorie Express 10 14113/14114 Subedarganj – Dehradun Express 11 14119/14120 Kathgodam – Dehradun Express 12 14631/14632 Dehradun – Amritsar Express 13 15001/15002 Muzaffarpur – Dehradun Express 14 15005/15006 Gorakhpur – Dehradun Express 15 15019/15020 Dehradun – Tanakpur Express 16 15119/15120 Banaras – Dehradun Express17 19565/19566 Okha – Dehradun Uttaranchal Express 18 54341/54342 Saharanpur – Dehradun Passenger Further, in addition to regular services, Indian Railways, subject to operational feasibility, traffic justification etc., also operate Special trains to cater extra rush of passengers during festivals, holidays, religious congregations etc. Besides, introduction of new trains on any route/section depends on various factors which include: • Capacity of that section • Availability of path • Availability of required rolling stock • Availability of matching infrastructure for rolling stock • Maintenance requirement of railway tracks and other assets *****