The distance between New Delhi and Leh is about 1,000 km and currently one needs at least 40 hours to reach this Himalayan town overland. The new train will cut travel time twice – to 20 hours.
The train will go directly to Leh, not just Jammu. This Ladakh route will pass through Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu and feature an abundance of tunnels – but no worry, there will be enough beautiful veiws en route, too.
The estimated cost of the project is 11.5 billion US dollar. And no wonder as the rail route will feature 74 tunnels, 124 bridges, and an additional 396 smaller bridges. The longest tunnel will be 27 km long.
Keylong, one of the main stations on the route, will sit 3000 m above the sea level. In general, Delhi–Leh railway will be one of the highest railway lines in the world (or even the highest one!) rivalling the current world leader, China’s Qinghai–Tibet Railway, which climbs as high as 5,068 m.
Getting from Delhi to Leh by Train: Is It Really Possible?
News in Asia
Well, not now but it will be possible soon, believe it or not. While currently there are no direct trains and flights available for this route, the highest rail route in the world will soon connect the capital of India with a high-desert city in the Himalayas in northern India’s Jammu and Kashmir state