A historic milestone is set to be achieved today as Prime Minister바카라¯Narendra Modi will flag off the바카라¯first Vande Bharat Express train to Kashmir on the Srinagar-Katra railway track, which boasts several major engineering milestones, including the world's highest railway bridge, India바카라™s longest transportation tunnel, and the country's first cable-stayed bridge.
The Central government바카라¯has been looking to provide an alternative and all-weather바카라¯transport to Jammu & Kashmir and planned the 326 km long railway line from Jammu to Baramulla to join the Kashmir valley with the rest of India under two projects of Jammu-Udhampur Rail link project (JURL) of 54km length바카라¯and Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link Project (USBRL) of 272km.
바카라¯It was in the year 2002 that the USBRL was바카라¯declared a 바카라œnational project".바카라¯ It involved the daunting task of constructing a바카라¯network of tunnels and bridges through flinty surfaces to connect the Kashmir region바카라¯with the rest of the country with the train network.
The project has seen several Prime Ministers inaugurating parts of it,바카라¯before the final leg of the network will now see the Kashmir region connected through the pilgrimage center of Vaishno바카라¯Devi with Jammu and Delhi.
Officials in the Northern Railways said that it was nothing short of a historic feat. 바카라œIt is a proud achievement,바카라 said a Railway official. Work on the project continued on several sections,바카라¯which were inaugurated바카라¯from time to time.
The section from Qazigund to Baramulla (118 km) was commissioned in October 2009, and the one from Qazigund to Banihal (18 Km) was opened for the public on June 26,바카라¯2013. Earlier,바카라¯the Udhampur to Katra (25 Km) stretch was opened to traffic by the Prime Minister on July 4, 2014. Trains will run tomorrow바카라¯on the 111-kilometer바카라¯stretch, the Katra-Banihal section, which was seen to be one of the most difficult바카라¯railway line sections undertaken in the country and involved바카라¯laying of a broad tunnel network with 바카라¯바카라¯97.42 kilometers바카라¯of the section (87%) interspersed with tunnels.바카라¯
The Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan section of the Katra-Banihal section was commissioned바카라¯on February 20, 2024, while the Katra-Sangaldan stretch will be thrown open today.
World바카라™s Highest Railway Bridge
The Chenab bridge has been constructed in the Reasi district of Union territory and cuts through deep gorges of Chenab River near the Salal Hydro power dam, and has been바카라¯built at a height of 359 m from the bed level (height of Qutab Minar is 72 m and of the Eiffel Tower is 324 m). 바카라¯This is the highest railway bridge in the world,바카라¯and for its 바카라œconstruction 2 cable cars having capacity of 20 MT each and 37 MT ran on 54mm cables laid across the river valley and connected through 127 m high pylon (tower) on Kauri end and 105 m on Bakkal end of the river.바카라¯ The quantity of structural steel used for the Chenab bridge is 28,660 MT, which is quite huge,바카라 said a document of the project formulated by Northern Railway.
바카라¯Longest Transportation Tunnel
The T-50 tunnel바카라¯of the project,바카라¯which바카라¯is spread over a바카라¯length of 12.77 km,바카라¯is India바카라™s longest transportation tunnel,바카라¯comprising twin tubes of the Main Tunnel (MT) for train operations and a parallel Escape Tunnel (ET) for safety and rescue. "This tunnel is in the Sumber-Khari Section (14.1 km) of the Katra-Banihal section (111 KM) of the USBRL project, " official documents reveal. 바카라œTunnel T-50 is a construction marvel. Excavated through Ramban and Ramsu formations, it encountered several challenging바카라¯conditions resulting in excessive tunnel deformations,바카라 documents said.
First Cable-Stayed Bridge
Part of the project is the Anji Khad Bridge,바카라¯which is India바카라™s first cable-stayed bridge바카라¯connecting Katra and 바카라¯Reasi in Jammu and Kashmir바카라¯and has been built in a바카라¯seismic-prone바카라¯region. The bridge has support of 96 cables,바카라¯having cable lengths varying from 82m to 295m, and the total weight for all 96 cables is 849 MT, and the total running length of all stay cable strands is 653 kilometers. The quantity of structural steel used for the Anji Bridge is 8,215 MT.
All Weather Connectivity
바카라¯The Kashmir to Katra train service is expected to enhance tourism footfall in the Union Territory and provide all-weather connectivity to the Kashmir region. Road connectivity to Kashmir has remained바카라¯disrupted during winters due to landslides on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and the Mughal Road.
According to officials,바카라¯as part of the project,바카라¯they have also given a permanent job in Railways to one of the family members, whose바카라¯more than 75% of land was acquired, with the employment provided바카라¯to more than 804바카라¯people. The project helped employ바카라¯8150 persons through contractors,바카라¯and around 65% of employment was given to locals, with over 539 lakh man-days바카라¯of employment generated so far.바카라¯Further, more than 215 km of바카라¯approach roads바카라¯to work sites have바카라¯been constructed, with these roads바카라¯providing connectivity to 73 villages of far-flung areas.
바카라¯Project Cost
The sanctioned cost of the project was Rs 37,012 crore, with a cumulative expenditure of the USBRL project till April 2024 estimated to be Rs 39348 crore. Major expenditure had to be made on the Katra-Banihal바카라¯section,바카라¯and the cost was worked out to be Rs 30476 crore in view of the heavy tunnel work.
