BANIHAL: A 11-km-long tunnel across the treacherous Pir Panjal mountain range on the Banihal-Qazigund railway line in Jammu and Kashmir, dedicated today by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is the longest such transportation passage in India and second longest in Asia.
About 1,300 workers and 150 engineers worked tirelessly overcoming all odds for the last seven years to accomplish the engineering marvel. The work on the tunnel had started in November 2005.
The tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) and it is for the first time such a method has been used on such a large scale in India.
Hindustan Construction Company, which implemented the project, said the Pir Panjal tunnel is the longest transportation tunnel in India and second longest in Asia.
An HCC official said China had constructed the longest tunnel in Asia.
“The HCC project team sustained round-the-clock work execution across all project fronts, even in freezing winter temperatures, with a singular objective – to successfully execute this project of national importance,” President and Whole Time Director of HCC Arun Karambelkar said.
He said that during the course of work, the project team faced several technical challenges due to unpredictable geology and inconsistency of the “rock mass” of the region.
“Despite the challenges, the project team successfully completed the work with a zero accident record,” he said.
The tunnel is totally water proof and equipped with a fire fighting system across the entire length of the tunnel.
The tunnel passes approximately 440 meters below the existing Jawahar Road Tunnel. The 18-km long Banihal-Qazigund section of the ambitious mountain railway, connecting Kashmir Valley with Jammu region, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the presence of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Governor N N Vohra and central ministers.
The Prime Minister flagged off the first train and boarded it for a journey across the 11-km tunnel,
The railway line will considerably reduce the travel time between the two places. The distance between Banihal and Qazigund, which is also one of the most treacherous stretches in the entire Kashmir rail network project, will reduce from 35 km by road to 17.5 km on train.
The Banihal-Qazigund section was constructed at a cost of about Rs 1,700 crore.
While train service is already operational within the Valley on the 118-km long route between Qazigund and Baramulla in North Kashmir, the 148-km Katra-Qazigund line is expected to be completed in three years. The 25-km Udhampur-Katra section is likely to be opened in a few months.
The Udhampur-Katra-Banihal section, which will connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country’s rail network, is expected to be completed by 2017.-PTI
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
