To increase connectivity pan-India, the Indian railways is working at a rapid speed to provide comfort and convenience to its passengers. Having said that, the work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project which will connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country is moving at a fast pace. Out of the 272 km length of the USBRL project, 161 km has already been commissioned and operationalized. Under the mega project, the platforms and tracks will be built at a height of more than that of Qutub Minar and the running of trains at such height is no less than a miracle.
About the project
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project will connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country. The work for the Reasi railway station in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir, a part of Jammu-Baramulla line, is in the final leg where concrete slabs have been laid at bridge number 39 built over 105 ft gorge.
Construction work
Of all the pillars installed for the bridge, the height of the middle one is more than that of Qutub Minar. The height of the pylon above the foundation is 193 meter. The bridge is 331 meter above the sea level and earthquake resistant. Northern Railway general manager Ashutosh Gangal said that work on the rest of the 111 km, of the total 272 km stretch, is going on at a fast pace. Of the 111 km stretch, 58 km will pass through a tunnel.
The bridge will be supported by 96 cables whose length will vary from 82 meters to 295 meters so that there is no problem when the train runs at a fast speed in the Himalayan region.
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Tunnel
In February, the Northern railway achieved success in completing the longest rail tunnel in the Katra-Banihal section. T49 is a tunnel of length 12.758 km long and it is going to be the longest tunnel of Indian Railway surpassing the Peer Panjal Tunnel of 11.2 km length constructed by USBRL on the Banihal-Qazigund section.
T-49 tunnel has two tubes -- one is the main tunnel and the other is an escape tunnel. The tunnel has been constructed by NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method), which is a modern technique of drill and blast method. The Cross-section profile of the tunnel is modified horseshoe-shaped.
With the line and level breakthrough in the 12.758 km long T 49 tunnel, work will pace up for connecting Kashmir Valley with other parts of the country via railways. According to railways, the train will run at a speed of 100 km per hour on this stretch. The work of laying tracks is underway.
Right now, Pylon work has been completed and the construction is on for the deck. This deck will have 15 metre wide composite steel slabs having a depth of ten metre. The first phase involves the casting of a 196.25 meter long deck with a continuous cast of 370 metric tonnes of reinforced steel and 900 cusecs of concrete.
Deadline of the project
The Railways has put the deadline of its completion in April, 2023. With the completion of this project, direct train services will start from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. According to the railways, this project is also important from a strategic point of view. It was declared a national project in 2022.
(With inputs from IANS)
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