Mail News Service
New Delhi, June 26 : The Indian Railways added another feather in its cap with the historic milestone of connecting Kashmir valley with the Jammu region. The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh dedicated the newly constructed railway line between Banihal (Jammu region)-Qazigund (Kashmir valley) section to the nation by flagging off the first DEMU train from Banihal through the Pir Panjal tunnel- the longest transportation tunnel of India, from Banihal Railway station in Jammu & Kashmir today.
Ircon International Ltd., a PSU under the Ministry of Railways, has been the principal executing agency for Northern Railway to execute the work of Dharam-Qazigund Section of USBRL Project which includes Banihal-Qazigund section and Pir Panjal Tunnel.
The Kashmir Valley railway ( Qazigund-Baramulla section) is a 119 km long modern railway line that became completely operational in October 2009. So far it is an island railway, not yet connected to the Indian Railway network. It connects Baramula in the western part of Kashmir to Qazigund at the other end of the Valley, via Srinagar. With today’s dedication of this challenging project to the nation, the extension of this railway line beyond the Pir Panjal Mountains in to the Jammu region has been achieved with trains running on the new railway section of Qazigund-Banihal. The 17.7 km long rail link paves way for the future railway connectivity of Kashmir region with the national railway network.
On 28th December, 2012, the first trial run train was operated on this section of Qazigund-Banihal which is 17.7 kms long, of this 6.5 km is on cutting and embankment including bridges. This section mostly consists of a 11.2 km long, Tunnel T-80 which pierces through the Pir Panjal range, providing a direct rail connection between the Kashmir Valley and Jammu region. About 11,78,500 cubic meters of earthwork in cutting and filling has been done. The maximum depth of cutting on this section is 15.20 meters and maximum height of embankment is 16.70 meters. 39 bridges have also been constructed in this section which include two major bridges, 30 minor bridges and 7 Road Over Bridges/Road Under Bridges. The total expenditure of Rs. 1691.00 cr. has been incurred by the railways to complete this section.
Tunnel T-80 has been provided the State of the Art systems with CCTV cameras at every 62. 5 m, linear fire detection system, fire fighting system with fire hydrants at every 125 m, emergency telephone with communication to control room at every 250 m, fire extinguishers and fire alarm at every 250 m, air quality monitoring system at every 500 m, escape route signs to guide the shortest escape route in emergency at every 50 m, emergency lighting and normal lighting and public address system. A 3.0 m wide road along the track for rescue and maintenance purpose has been constructed with a 772.0 m long escape tunnel to provide additional escape route. Tunnel ventilation system has been provided which consists of 25 fans along the tunnel, installed in the ceiling of tunnel in groups of 5 each.
Falling in mountainous terrain, JK has always been a challenge to transportation providers. Other factors which increase the difficulty in providing modes of transportation.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/pm-dedicates-longest-transportation-tunnel/
