A video is being widely shared on social media in which a train can be seen passing through tunnels cutting through a series of hills beside a river. Those sharing the video claim that it shows a train route from Rishikesh to Karnaprayag in Uttarakhand.
A social media user shared the video with the caption, “Beautiful and Marvellous scene. Train running from Rishikesh towards Karnaprayag. India’s long time unaccomplished dream has become a reality. Beautiful and Marvellous scene. Train running from Rishikesh towards Karnaprayag. India’s long time unaccomplished dream has become a reality. (sic)”
SouthCheck found that the claim is false. The viral video is from China’s Hunan Province, not India.
Upon inspection, we found that the viral video is a compilation of two videos. On a Google reverse image search, we found the same video shared by a Facebook page of a Chinese media organisation, People’s Daily, China on October 16, 2024. The video was shared with a caption that reads, “Tunnel after tunnel, a moving train passes through the mountainous landscape, unfolding a beautiful sight in Cili County, central China’s Hunan Province.”
We compared the viral video with the one shared by the Chinese media organisation and found them to be the same, including aspects such as the arrangement of the tunnels in both videos.
The same video was also shared on the Facebook page of the Chinese Embassy of Manila on November 6, 2024.
We further geolocated it and found that the houses built near the railway tunnel, visible in the video at the beginning, can be seen in the Cili region in China alongside the railway tracks cutting through the hills.
On the Google Map, we found that it was mentioned that it was of Jiaoliu Line. We further found that the Jiaoliu railway crosses the Yangtze River via the Zhicheng Yangtze River Bridge in Zhicheng, Hubei Province.
We further found that the first phase of the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag rail project is likely to operate by 2026. The project is aimed to enhance accessibility to the revered Char Dham pilgrimage sites and boost infrastructure in five key districts of the state. This project includes 17 tunnels, with one stretching 15.1 kilometers, and 19 railway bridges over rivers.
Hence, we conclude that the viral claim is false.
