Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link, USBRL Project Update, Sangaldan Railway Station & Tunnel

Sangaldan Railway Tunnel Update, USBRL Project Update, Sangaldan Railway Station . Background : ______________ With a view to provide an alternative and a reliable transportation system to Jammu & Kashmir, Govt. of India planned a 345 km. long Railway Line joining the Kashmir Valley with the Indian Railways network. The Project has been declared as a Project of National Importance in March 2002. 2. The Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla Railway line is the biggest project in the construction of a mountain railway since independence. From Jammu to Baramulla, length of the new rail line is 345 km. It passes through the young Himalayas, tectonic thrusts and faults. The work on Jammu-Udhampur section ( 53 Km) has been completed and opened to public by Hon’ble Prime Minister in Apr’05. The section from Anantnag to Rajwansher (66 KM) was opened to the public by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 11/10/08. The section from Rajwansher to Baramulla (35 KM) was inaugurated and dedicated to the nation by the Hon’ble Chairperson of UPA Smt. Sonia Gandhi on 14.02.09. The section from Quazigund to Anantnag (18 km) was opened to the public by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 28/10/09 The work is in various stages of progress in the balance length from Udhampur to Quazigund. This project is, perhaps, the most difficult new railway line project undertaken on Indian subcontinent. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems. For execution purpose, project has been divided into 3 sub-sections. Construction activities are in progress on Udhamur-Katra, Katra-Quazigund and Quazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla section of the project. Katra-Qazigund leg is the most difficult stretch of this project. The alignment of this stretch which is 129 Km long, passes through Patni and Pir Panjal ranges. This alignment requires construction of 62 important/major bridges / minor bridges. The alignment also requires, interalia, construction of 35 no. of tunnels, totaling to a length of 103 kms bringing the percentage of the total length of the alignment on tunnels to approx. 80%. 6.0 Present Status of the Project: 6.1 For the ease of execution, the  work has been sub-divided into the following three legs :- Leg -1 :   Udhampur-Katra ( 25 Km) Leg -2  :  Katra-Qazigund (129KM) Leg -3  :  Qazigund –Baramulla (Km 119 ) The progress of work in these different sections of the new line is given as under:   6.2 Leg 1: Udhampur- Katra ( 25 km) Executing Agency : Northern Railway Udhampur-Katra section is 25 km long and involves about 11 km of tunneling, 9 important/ major bridges, 29 minor bridges and 10 ROB/RUBs in addition to about 38.86 lac cum of earthwork. The approx. cost of this stretch is Rs. 928 cr. The tallest bridge in this section is 85m high ( Br. No. 20) and the longest tunnel is 3.15 km long. All the tunneling as well as bridge works have been completed. However, problem of squeezing and swelling was faced in tunnel (T-1) due to expansive soil conditions, after completion of tunnel boring work. To tackle this problem, Railway has engaged the services of M/s RITES- Geo-Consult (a joint venture between M/s RITES and M/s Geo-Consult, an internationally renowned tunnel consultancy firm based in Austria). The consultant has given the revised scheme of construction of a new diversion tunnel. The work for construction of diversion tunnel has been awarded in Jan 2010 and contrac. The target for this leg has been revised to December, 2011. 6.3 Leg 2 : Katra-Qazigund ( 148 km) This leg is the toughest section, full of tunnels and bridges/ viaducts, that has been constructed on the Indian Railways. It is much tougher terrain than Konkan Railway. The terrain in this region is full of poor geology and faults. Tunneling and bridging is a challenge greater than that was met on Jammu-Udhampur or Udhampur-Katra section and will be a matter of pride for the engineers of Indian Railways. The stretch between river Chenab and Banihal is passing through a virgin territory and requires construction of about 262 km of access roads. About 160 km of access roads have already been constructed. At Qazigund end of this stretch, the longest tunnel on Indian Railways is being constructed ( T-80, Pir Panjal Tunnel). This tunnel is 10.96 km long and will pierce through the Pir Panjal range below the snow line. The work on Katra-Qazigund section was started in Nov.’2002 and the present progress is about 13 percent. The engineers working on this section are facing multifarious problems due to extremely difficult and inaccessible terrain, technical problems and adverse security concerns of extremist activities in the State. Your Queries 1. USBRL Project Update 2. USBRL Project Status 3. Baramulla Railway Station 4. Banihal Railway Station 5. Jammu to Kashmir Train 6. Udhampur to Srinagar Train 7. Katra Banihal Rail Project