Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (JUSBRL) Project [Archive]

ananth9803

March 13th, 2008, 10:52 PM

Kashmir Railway
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India is undertaking one of its most challenging railway projects ever by building a line to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the Himalayan foothills. Far from being an ordinary scheme, the 290 km route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain.

The Kashmir Railway has been under construction since 1994 by various railway companies in India. They have been engaged in building one of the most spectacular railway lines in the world. When completed this line will link the city of Jammu in the Northern plains of India with city of Srinagar in the Himalayan Valleys and beyond. This project has had a long and chequered history but as of 2006 serious progress is being made after it was declared a National Priority Project in 2001. Planned date of completion was August 15, 2007, but several unforeseen complications have pushed back the final completion deadline to some time in 2009. The Banihal tunnel is scheduled for completion only in 2011, hence further delays are likely.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 History
* 2 The Project
* 3 Infrastructure
* 4 Rolling stock
* 5 Signaling and communications
* 6 Security
* 7 The future
* 8 Project operations
* 9 Response to criticism
* 10 Recognition of sacrifices
* 11 Current status
* 12 External links

[edit] History

1898: Maharaja Pratap Singh first explored the possibility of a railway line connecting Jammu with Srinagar. For various reasons including complications with the British government and political frictions this was put on hold.

1902: Britain proposes a rail link following the Jhelum river connecting Srinagar to Rawalpindi. This was not popular as the residents of the state lived mostly in Jammu and Srinagar and interacted via the more southerly Moghul road. Politics did not favour this proposal.

1905: Britain again proposes a link between Rawalpindi and Srinagar. Maharaja Pratap Singh approves rail line between Jammu and Srinagar via Reasi through Moghul road. This audacious line was to have involved a 2'-0" (610 mm) or 2'-6" (763 mm) gauge railway climbing all the way to the Moghul road pass at 11,000+ feet (3355 m) over the Pir Panjal Range. This can be compared to the present day Banihal Tunnel at approximately 7,000 ft (2135 m). As planned it would have been electric-powered and would have used the mountain streams as a source of hydro-electric power.

In retrospect it was perhaps just as well that it was not built. Though it would have been spectacular, the low gauge and elevated pass would have meant it was not all weather and been constrained low speed and capacity similar to the impractical Darjeeling Himalayan Railway.

1947: With partition Jammu was disconnected from the united India Rail grid and a new line from Pathankot to Jammu had to be laid. It was proposed that this be extended to Srinagar but the preliminary survey of the Pir Panjal quickly squashed the thought, especially for a poor country with higher priorities.

1983: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi kicks off the line from Jammu to Udhampur. An optimistic schedule of five years and a budget of 50 Crores was set. As detailed below what happened to this line amply illustrates the wisdom of the earlier planners who had abandoned their plans when faced with reality.

1994: Railway minister Jaffer Sharief declares the need for a railway line to Baramulla and the Kashmir valley. Upon further review it was revealed that this would be a 'hanging' Railway running from Qazigund to Srinagar and on to Baramulla. The line from Katra to Qazigund through the mountains still looks unattainable.

2002 July: The Vajpayee Government declares the line a National Project. This means that it will be constructed and completed irrespective of cost. The central government will fund the entire project. This is important as the Railways do not have the now estimated cost of 6,000 Crores for the entire project. By the Railways' allocation it would have taken 60 years to complete the project.

The project is now set at a war-like priority, with money not an issue. A suitably challenging deadline of August 15, 2007, Independence Day, was also set.

2005 April 13: The Jammu to Udhampur line, all of 50 km (31 mi), is inaugurated, 21 years and 550 Crores ($130 Million US) after its commencement. The line has 20 major tunnels and 160 bridges. Its longest tunnel is 2.5 km (1.5 mi) - longer than the Banihal Pass Tunnel - and it highest bridge is 77 m 252 ft). This is in the relatively easy Shivalik Hills.

2008 February: After much speculation, the Railway Minister Confirms that new completion date is set for 2012. This is 50% over the original time limit of 10 years, from 1997 to 2007.

[edit] The Project

Kashmir has long been separated from India by a lack of suitable transport routes. Currently the only way to reach the area is by a hairpin-road journey. The area also sparks many political debates, as Kashmiri's are not sure what they want and outside forces interfere with progress.

The 290 km extension of the Indian Railway network will allow a 900 km (560 mile) journey direct from Delhi in India to Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

Constructing the railway route to this isolated region has involved significant engineering challenges, and although the first short section has a 2007 opening date, other major structures are two years behind.
This article or section needs to be updated.
Please update the article to reflect recent events, and remove this template when finished.

Many bridges and tunnels are being built, including an 11 km tunnel and the world’s highest railway bridge which towers above the Chenab River.

[edit] Infrastructure

The alignment for the Kashmir Railway presents one of the greatest railway engineering challenges ever faced, with the only contest coming from the recently completed China-Tibet rail route which crosses permanently frozen ground and climbs to more than 5,000m above sea level.

Whilst the temperatures of the Kashmir Railway area are not as severe as China, it does still experience extreme winters with heavy snowfalls. However, making the route even more complex is the requirement to pass through the Himalayan foothills and the mighty Pir Panjal with most peaks exceeding 15,000 feet (4,600 m) in height.

The route includes many bridges, viaducts and tunnels – the lower section of the railway crosses a total of 158 bridges and passes through 20 tunnels, the longest of which is 11 km (six miles) in length. The greatest single engineering challenge is the crossing of the Chenab which involves building a bridge 359 m above the river bed, 1,315m long.

This bridge will be the highest railway structure of its kind in the world, 35 m higher than the tip of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Both bridges are to be simple span bridges. Cor-Ten Steel is planned to be used to provide an environment friendly appearance and eliminate the need to paint the bridge. The design and structure is very similar to the New River Gorge Bridge

It is being project managed by the Konkan Railway Construction between Salal and Laole stations. Completion is scheduled for 2009, two years after the first isolated section of the route is due to open for local passenger services, and it requires the use of 26,000t of steel.

All tunnels including the New Banihal Tunnel will be constructed using the New Austrian Tunneling method. Numerous challenges have been encountered while tunneling through the geologically young and unstable Shivalik mountains. In particular water ingress problems have been seen in the Udhampur to Katra section. This has required some drastic soltions using steel arches and several feet of shotcrete.

Even though the line is being built through a mountainous region, a ruling gradient of 1% has been set to provide a safe, smooth and reliable journey. More importantly Bankers will not be required making the journey quicker and smoother. It will be built to the Indian standard gauge of 1,676 mm gauge, laid on concrete sleepers with continuous welded rail and with a minimum curve radius of 676 m. Maximum line speed will be 100 km/h (60 mph). Provision for future doubling will be made on the major bridges. Additionally provisions for future electrification will be made, though the line will be operated with diesel locomotives initially. Kashmir is an electricity scarce region at present. There will be 30 stations on the full route, served by 10–12 trains per day initially.

The Kashmir line will connect with the Indian Railways railhead at Jammu, where a 60 km access route has been built to Udhampur. The main sections of the route are between Udhampur and Qazigund – 75% in tunnels and the responsibility of Konkan Railway Construction Corporation – with the Qazigund-Baramulla section being constructed by Indian Railways.

The second section to Baramulla is due to open in 2007. However, this will remain isolated until the remaining, more challenging part of the route including the Chenab River crossing is completed in 2009.

[edit] Rolling stock

Rolling stock for the new route will be from the existing national fleet. Both passenger and freight trains will use the new railway into and out of Kashmir. Passenger services will be provided by the new Aerodynamic HP diesel multiple units. The service will at first be provided on a 45 km section of the Qazigund-Baramulla section, running initially between Rajwansher and Anwantipora. The entire Qazigund-Baramulla section is due to open by the end of 2007.

Freight services conveying grain and petroleum products will run in between the 10–12 passengers services that are planned to operate daily.

Maintenance of all rolling stock and locomotives will be at the newly built Budgam Shed just South of Srinagar.

[edit] Signaling and communications

Three-aspect colour light signaling is being installed on the route to maintain train safety. GSM-R equipment may be installed in the future to improve the quality of the system.

There has also been mention of the Konkan Railways ACD (Anti-Collision Device) being supplied for equipment on the line.

[edit] Security

The regions the line passes through continue to face terrorist challenges. The presence of Pakistan close by aggravates these challenges. Plans for CCD cameras at all major Bridges, Tunnels and Railway Stations have been made. Additionally a special security detail to protect this infrastructure has been contemplated.

[edit] The future

The Kashmir Railway has been designated as a National Project Status, as the Indian Government is keen to improve transport into and out of the region for both parties' benefit.

The first section of the route is due to open in 2007, but it will be 2009 before a through service from central India to Kashmir is possible, due to the number of river crossings, tunnels and gorges that the railway has to cross

[edit] Project operations

The Project officially coded USBRL(Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway) starts from the city of Udhampur North of Jammu and travels for 312 km (187 mi) to the city of Baramulla on the North Western Edge of the Kashmir Valley.

Indian Railway is in Charge of the Udhampur to Katra Section (25 km) Konkan Railway is in charge of the Katra to Laole Section (90 km). This is arguably the toughest portion of the railway with over 80% of the line either inside a Tunnel or on a Bridge. IRCON, a Public Sector railway construction company is in charge of the Laole to Barramulla Section (120 km). Another tough brutal section.

HCC has won the tender to construct both the North and South Section of the 11 km Banihal tunnel for approx $120 million. Work is underway. AFCONS with Ultra Engineering (South Korea) will design and construct the Chenab Bridge for Approx $130 million. Gammon India with Archirodon Construction (South Africa) will build the Anji Khad Bridge for Approx $100 million.

[edit] Response to criticism

Consequent to recent delays and technical complication, numerous journals have attacked this project as a waste of money and a diversion from other less costly solutions.

The cost of any potential project must be first weighed against the costs. In this respect this project has always suffered. But over time it has become obvious that there are intangible effects that must be taken into account.

The final cost of the project when completed is likely to be $4 Billion+ (Rs 15,000 crore). This must be weighed against the total SDP of the Valley at roughly $10 Billion (Rs 40,000 crore). It is clear from this comparison that the SDP of the valley alone would never make this a profitable enterprise.

[edit] Recognition of sacrifices

June 2004 Sudhir Kumar, an IRCON Engineer and his Brother (name?) were kidnapped and murdered by Terrorists in the valley.

June 2005 Altaf Hussain, A laborer working in a Tunnel at Tathyar (HCC) was killed by a collapse. Two others were injured.

May 16 2007 Fancy Akther 09, daughter of Mushtaq Ahmad Wagay and Khushboo Akther 07, daughter of Mohammad Ayub Wani. Drowned in a ditch constructed by Railway Company.

Feb 14 2008 A Nepali labourer Tika Ram Balwari son of Tuya Narayan was killed after a boulder hit him in at Uri Varmul, presumably on the Kashmir rail project for HCC.

[edit] Current status

November 2006 - Test bogies have been successfully transferred to the Kashmir Valley through the Banihal Tunnel by ABC Transport Inc.

January 2007 - The Udhampur to Katra section has been delayed as engineers grapple with the first tunnel after Udhampur. The tunnel bed has experienced serious uplift and the dimensions of the tunnel have been squeezed due to an undetected fault. New date is December 2007.

February 2007 - The Rajwansher Kakapura line inside the valley is delayed due to snow & rock avalaches which have prevented the transfer of bogies. New date is May 2007. The Baramulla to Qazigund section is still on for December 2007.

March 2007 - The first two kilometers of the new Banihal tunnel are complete, one kilometer from each end. Only 9 more kilometers to go. Water seepage has become a serious issue.

May 2007 - HPDEMU successfully transferred to valley. Trial runs completed. Inauguration of Anantnag to Rajwansher line likely soon.

August 15th 2007 - First Valley section from Rajwansher to Kakapura is planned for inauguration on Independence Day. Rest of the section by year end. No word on Katra Section.

August 17th 2007 - Inauguration delayed to end of year as Station facilities are not complete.

August 22nd 2007 - First Trial run within the valley was successfully completed today. Signaling systems still not complete. Second train set with 10 coaches is still sitting in Jammu. Two sets will be needed for service and inauguration is waiting for their transport into the valley.

Sept 4th 2007 - Per note to Parliament, Revised cost is estimated as Rs 11,300 Crore (Approx $2.5 Billion) versus original estimate of Rs 3000 Crore. Rs 1700 crore sanctioned for 2007, Rs 3900 has been spent to date. Revised timetable Baramulla-Qazigund May 2008, Udhampur Katra December 2008 (Due to Faults in Tunnels), Katra-Qazigund 2011-2012. Note that original completion date was August 15, 2007.

Sept 30th 2007 - The first accident occurs. Two Bogies of a Three bogie trial consist derail and overturn at Ompura Station. Sabotage is NOT suspected. As there still no passengers, no injuries were reported. Damage to train is minor.

October 2nd 2007 - A decision has been made by CM Ghulam Azad to open then line once the 70 km from Anantnag to Rajwansher is complete in June 2008. This is a disservice as the 25 km from Kakapore to Budgam is already complete and could be operated at this moment.

January 2nd 2007 - Construction on the Katra to Laole section (90 Km, most geologically difficult)has slowed to a crawl as mounting labor disputes over pay and local involvement take their toll. Present rate of tunneling progress is roughly 70 meters per month versus a normal 200 meters a month (60% of this section is in tunnels). At this rate this section will require 16 years for completion.

February 26th 2008 - Per Railway Minister Laloo Yadav's budget, section within Kashmir Valley, most probably Qazigund to Rajwansher will begin operations in 2008-2009. Per budgeting Udhampur to Qazigund has been pushed to 2012. No mention of Udhampur to Katra after recent tunneling difficulties. Further delays are to be expected.

Hindustani

March 14th, 2008, 12:38 AM

Nice to see megaproject like this in state of J & K. very important for its development. I'll hope I get to travel in this train route some day. Must be one of the most breathtaking one in the world once completed.

Hindustani

March 14th, 2008, 01:24 AM

www.railway-technology.com

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/kashmir-railway/images/4-trackwork.jpg

harsh1802

March 14th, 2008, 02:31 AM

^^ Cool!

LondonLASanFrancisco

March 14th, 2008, 03:54 AM

^^ Cool!

Guys,
It is a good idea that you hav estarted this thread.
Do you have any photographs of the present status?
All the best. Let us make this forum a High light of "INDIA as a Nation winning over all Challenges"

SarafIndian

March 14th, 2008, 04:30 AM

So good. Train to paradise on earth.. :banana:

skganji

March 14th, 2008, 04:41 AM

Guys, there are lot of posts in Jammu and Kashmir Project thread related to the JUSBRL project. Can we cross post or transfer them from that thread to this thread.

MxC

March 14th, 2008, 09:54 PM

Some of the existing posts are already linked in the first post of this thread. I searched and have linked few more below:
Kashmir to have trains in 6 months from now (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14101090&postcount=12)
Kashmiri Train Images (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=16646772&postcount=22)
Kashmir to have trains in 6 months from now (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=14101090&postcount=12)
Jammu Udhampur bridge number 42 (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=12612310&postcount=230) (photo only link)Feel free to consolidate more related posts under this thread if and when you find them.

Guys, there are lot of posts in Jammu and Kashmir Project thread related to the JUSBRL project. Can we cross post or transfer them from that thread to this thread.

MxC

March 14th, 2008, 09:57 PM

Is this image from the JUSBRL project, or is it a generic image?

www.railway-technology.com

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/kashmir-railway/images/4-trackwork.jpg

MxC

March 14th, 2008, 10:00 PM

I don't know why, but images are not showing up once again in my post quoted below. I'm trying one more time, and also pasting their actual links in case the pics do not load again:
http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107959&g2_serialNumber=2
http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107962&g2_serialNumber=2
http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107965&g2_serialNumber=2

http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107959&g2_serialNumber=2
http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107962&g2_serialNumber=2
http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107965&g2_serialNumber=2

I think you might have seen these. Got them from IRFCA site (http://www.irfca.org/gallery/Misc/?g2_page=11):

http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107960&g2_serialNumber=5

http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107963&g2_serialNumber=5

http://www.irfca.org/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=107965&g2_serialNumber=2

Illusionist

March 14th, 2008, 10:32 PM

www.railway-technology.com

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/kashmir-railway/images/4-trackwork.jpg

this aint india... :ohno:

MxC

March 14th, 2008, 10:38 PM

The people in the pic do not look like Indians to me. So yeah I tend to agree. :righton:

this aint india... :ohno:

Fusionist

March 15th, 2008, 12:22 AM

This picture is from the same page.. as the other pic.. still i am not sure if hte other picture is from Kashmir railway.

http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/kashmir-railway/images/3-railway-platform.jpg

skganji

March 15th, 2008, 03:50 AM

PlaneMad

March 15th, 2008, 08:00 PM

The people in the pic do not look like Indians to me. So yeah I tend to agree. :righton:

not it isnt india, the sleepers look like wooden ones

skganji

March 15th, 2008, 09:44 PM

Bridge to a WORLD RECORD.
The world's tallest rail bridge is coming up over the chenab, connecting kauri and Bakkal in J&K's Reasi district.Standing 359m when completed, it will be 5 times as high as Qutub Minar, 35m taller than Eiffer Tower and 17m higher than the present record holder Millau Bridge (342m) in France.

http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/1226/getimage792948wc7.jpg

MxC

March 16th, 2008, 02:59 PM

Hindustani

March 16th, 2008, 08:22 PM

I was wondering about the security of the two mega bridges that are being constructed on the route. Does someone knows how is railways planning to protect these bridges. I'd think a 24 hrs CCTV system capable of night vision even during bad weather must be part of the security apparatus.

cant be worrying about cross border terrorism at this point. Kashmir needs to be linked to rest of India efficiently & not just Kashmiris from all parts of Jammu & K. valley but dont forget ladakhis, zanskaris has to be showed India will take care of its rough terrain infrastructure & they will be much much better off as indian citizens.

security situation of K. valley cant be any worse than maoist rebels, naxalites, assam rebels right now.

Remember. Well infrastructured Kashmir, Ladakh, Jammu, Zanskar means stronger India.

Imagine a 6 lane expressway started from pathankot-Jammu-Srinagar-Kargil-Leh. Then really know India is no longer a 3rd world poor country.

bhopalus

March 17th, 2008, 01:05 AM

Yes, the connectivity will provide for economic integration. It's a genius idea. Even the separatist Kashmiris will be forced to stay with India if they're means to livelihood are dependent on trade with other parts of India.

bhopalus

March 17th, 2008, 01:06 AM

no, check this instead:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Delhi_metro_rail_network.svg

IndiansUnite

March 17th, 2008, 04:36 AM

Update on the 11kms Banihal tunnel -

J&K to have longest rail tunnel in India

New Delhi: With an aim to connect the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country by a rail link, work on an 11-km tunnel—the longest in the nation’s railway network—is being carried out between Banihal and Qazigund in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The tunnel will be the longest in the Indian railway network,’’ said a senior official of Ircon, which has been entrusted with the responsibility of constructing the 187-km-long railway network from Baramulla to Sangaldan.

Passing through the Pir Panjal mountain, the tunnel is being constructed with state-of-the-art technology. “We are using the New Austrian Tunneling Method with the help of six German consultants,’’ the official said, adding, “Our engineers are also involved in designing and constructing the tunnel.’’ The eight-metre-high tunnel will have to be completed by 2010. “We have constructed 4.5 km of the tunnel,’’ said the official. He said the tunnel will also have a three-metre road along the track “for the emergency use of ambulances and small trucks’’. The 340-km-long J&K rail link project aims to link Katra with Baramulla. Currently, the longest land tunnel in the world is the 34.6-km Lotschberg Base Tunnel in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland.

[TOI]

MxC

March 17th, 2008, 10:33 PM

An image of Gambhir bridge (before Udhampur ?) from another thread (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=19059343&postcount=509). Also copied below:

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/791/2328561040e6184455bebot1.jpg

(Source: leon_chauhan's photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24156431@N03/))

MxC

March 20th, 2008, 05:51 PM

I'd posted this in the J&K Projects thread also as post # 26:

I noticed the following in a recent Northern Railway press release (http://www.nr.indianrail.gov.in/scripts/static/RecentReleasesDisplay.aspx?id=1842) from Feb 26:

HIGH LIGHTS OF RAIL BUDGET 2008-09 PERTAINING TO NORTHERN RAILWAY
...
...
SURVEY FOR NEW RAIL LINES

• Dehradun-Kalsi
• Jammu –Rajouri –Poonch –Akhnoor
• Meerut-Panipt
• ...
...I couldn't find any additional details on this new proposed line :ohno:. Does somebody have any details of this?
(BTW, I think the correct sequence should have been Jammu - Akhnoor - Rajauri - Poonch)

MxC

April 6th, 2008, 05:48 AM

Nine railway stations to come up in Kashmir Valley
Source: ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Railways/Nine_railway_stations_to_come_up_in_Kashmir_Valley/articleshow/2922671.cms)
With trains set to chug along the picturesque Kashmir Valley this summer, Railways have drawn a plan to set up nine railway stations in the region.

The railway stations would come up at Anantnag, Baijpora, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipora, Rajvoser, Srinagar and Budgam and Baramulla, northern railway sources said.

Some of these stations have already come up and others are under the process of completion, they said adding that one car shed for repairs too has come up at Budgam.

Over 15 bogies, three engines and track repair vehicle have already been sent to the Kashmir valley.

The trial run of the inaugural train was conducted in February. The trial started from central Badgam district railway station and ended at Panzgam railway station in south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

The rail project is being commissioned in two phases. In the first phase, the rail link between south Kashmir's Anantnag district and north Kashmir's Baramulla district will be completed while in the second phase, railway operations between the valley and the rest of the country will begin.

IndiansUnite

April 13th, 2008, 01:19 AM

CNN IBN video : Kashmir to get train service from August - It'll cover 66kms and connect Qazigund to Baramullah. Lalu Prasad is planning to inaugurate the project on 15th August.

HuzkNo6IrOs

MxC

April 18th, 2008, 08:56 PM

Qazigund-Baramulla rail link to be ready by August (http://www.kashmirlive.com/story/QazigundBaramulla-rail-link-to-be-ready-by-August/294136.html)

Srinagar, April 8: The Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link of the prestigious Kashmir rail project would be made functional by August, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said in Srinagar on Tuesday.

He also said that the 66-km stretch between Anantnag and Budgam districts was ready and would be dedicated to the nation by June this year.

Asked about the progress of work on the most difficult part of the rail link between Udhampur and Qazigund, he told reporters at the Srinagar railway station at Nowgam that officers involved in the project would be in a better position to talk about it.

The Udhampur-Qazigund link passes through mountainous terrain on which nearly two dozen bridges and tunnels are to be constructed for connecting Kashmir Valley to rest of the country by rail.

The Railway Minister also inspected a train, which was briefly operated as a 'mock run'.

Yadav went around the railway station and inspected the facilities for the commuters there besides interacting with local work force working on the railway project.

He also planted a Chinar sapling in the compound of the railway station building.

kronik

May 25th, 2008, 07:01 PM

Today's Sunday Indian Express has a whole page special on the Jammu-Baramulla Line. The paper has more pictures and more text, unfortunately, not all is on the website.

THE CONNECTING TRAIN (http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/313994.html)

Mandakini Gahlot
Posted online: Sunday, May 25, 2008

As work on India’s most challenging railway track—the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla link—picks up steam, photographer Praveen Khanna travels on a train from Jammu to Udhampur, the section that became functional three years ago and brought the region into the national mainstream.

YOU don’t have to be an engineer to see why this track is such a marvel. It weaves its way meticulously through the Shivalik range bypassing all barriers, be they mountains or rivers,” says a frequent traveller on the Jammu-Udhampur line. The journey is picture-postcard perfect. Green mountains and steep valleys creep up on you suddenly as the quaint little train chugs along, stopping at stations you never knew existed. Bajalta, Sangar, Manwal and Ram Nagar, tidy little towns nestled among the hilly Shivalik range.

This was the section that first opened three years ago, connecting Delhi and other regions to Udhampur and soon it will extend and travel further into Katra, Qazigund, Srinagar and Baramulla.

With over 36 major and 122 minor bridges on a track that is a little over 53 km long, the one-and-a-half hour journey from Jammu to Udhampur is a delight.
The track runs through almost 10 km of tunnels, the longest of which is 2.45 km. “To put it in perspective, the 2.5-km tunnel is longer than the Jawahar Tunnel on National Highway No. 1 on the Pir Panjal ranges, which connects the Valley to the rest of the country by road,” explains a Northern Railways official.

Digging the tunnels through the mountains was not easy. “It was a real challenge for railway engineers who had never before dealt with the rather strenuous task of laying tracks on a topography that’s so dynamic in nature,” a railway official says.

Perhaps one of the most breathtaking sights on the entire track is the mesmerising view of the Valley as seen from the Gambhir Bridge, which is 77 metre high—higher even than the Qutub Minar.

“I have been travelling daily on this train for almost two years now yet I never tire of seeing the view from up here,” says a passenger. One glance outside and you know what he means. The train seems to be weaving through the clouds.

THE TRACK

The rail line was in the making for two long decades but when the first train finally rolled out of the freshly laid Jammu-Udhampur track, it brought in a new age for an entire generation of Kashmiris. They lined the tracks and cheered as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “dedicated the rail link to the nation,” on April 13, 2005. Since then, the rail link has become an essential part of the lives of Kashmiri businessmen who finally feel like they are “connected” to the rest of the country. Equally grateful for the rail link, the only one connecting the state to the rest of the nation, are the lakhs of pilgrims who make the arduous journey to Vaishno Devi each year.

“Vaishno Devi is located in Udhampur district in Jammu and before the rail link, the only way to get there was a rather treacherous bus ride from Jammu,” says a Northern Railways official.

Built at a cost of Rs 522 crore, a mere pittance going by the size of the railway kitty today, the project was incessantly delayed due to “lack of funds”.

However, most railway officials concede that even if sufficient funds had been available to them, the incredible geo-technical nature of the sub-mountainous region would have ensured that the rail link took as long as it did to be ready. A technical study on the design features of the track prepared by the then Deputy Chief Engineer (Construction) of Northern Railways, V.K. Duggal categorically stated, “Construction of the Jammu-Udhampur-Baramulla new rail link is the biggest and perhaps the most difficult project undertaken by the Indian Railways in the mountainous terrain since Independence.”

THE PEOPLE

Much like Mumbai’s local rail tracks, the Jammu-Udhampur rail link has given a boost to Jammu’s economy. Businessmen who live in Udhampur use any one of the five trains that ply on this track daily to get to Jammu where they have set shop. “I travelled from Udhampur to Jammu everyday by road before the track was laid but it’s a rather dangerous drive to make and over the past three years I have only be travelling by train,” says Pawan Mehra, a gold merchant who has been shuttling between Jammu and Udhampur daily for the last eleven years. “The track is a lifeline to us businessmen who need to commute daily,” Mehra says.

The track has come as a blessing for students too. “Most of the educational institutes are located in Jammu and before the track was laid, it was difficult for students to commute between Udhampur and Jammu. Now, however, many of us who live in Udhampur, travel to different colleges in Jammu every day,” says Luckey Jamwal, an MBA student at KAWA Institute in Jammu.
So, the daily crowds start flocking at the station early. The first train departs from Udhampur at 6.45 in the morning. They park their motorcycles, and bicycles at the Udhampur station, hop onto the train and set out to seek a living or an education. Some complain that there is no reliable public transport that links the main Udhampur city to the station. “Not all of us have bikes and in the absence of a bus service from the city to the station it sort of dampens the entire purpose of the rail track,” says Sudesh Kumar, an employee at the Government Medical College in Jammu.

Almost 2,000 passengers travel on this line daily. During the pilgrimage season, Northern Railways runs special trains on the route to accommodate the rush of devotees making their way to Vaishno Devi.

http://www.indianexpress.com/res/i/thumbImages/T_Id_27059.jpg

Now the repeat this in the north-east.

SarafIndian

May 26th, 2008, 12:27 PM

Today's Sunday Indian Express has a whole page special on the Jammu-Baramulla Line. The paper has more pictures and more text, unfortunately, not all is on the website.

THE CONNECTING TRAIN (http://www.indianexpress.com/sunday/story/313994.html)

Now the repeat this in the north-east.

Bravo and Cool.. India has shown if required she can penetrate the Himalaya by her own.

Yes this experience would definitely benefit the North-East.

:cheers:

Luckystreak

May 26th, 2008, 06:43 PM

Today's Sunday Indian Express has a whole page special on the Jammu-Baramulla Line. The paper has more pictures and more text, unfortunately, not all is on the website.

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3025/25052008010001023az9.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/3545/clipboard01dm6.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/1741/25052008010001009ff3.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/2558/25052008010001005wn5.jpg

kronik

May 26th, 2008, 06:53 PM

Excellent!

Imagine, its gonna go all the way to the border! Maybe they should build a few arterial tracks coming out of this one. Is it possible to take a track somewhere into Ladakh region?

Arul Murugan

June 5th, 2008, 04:57 AM

Trail run to Srinagar in newly laid tracks

http://dkn.dinakaran.co.in/562008/DN_05-06-08_E1_08-04%20CNI.jpg

SOurce: Dinakaran Tamil daily

skganji

June 5th, 2008, 07:12 AM

Will the pro-pakistani fanatic leaders in the Valley appreciate it or denounce it and try to blow it up using the Jihadi terrorists ?. Any way, excellent updates on this project. Hope Udhampur-Katra link will be operational by August.

MxC

June 5th, 2008, 06:55 PM

Trail run to Srinagar in newly laid tracks

http://dkn.dinakaran.co.in/562008/DN_05-06-08_E1_08-04%20CNI.jpg

SOurce: Dinakaran Tamil daily

I'm so glad to see a train running in Kashmir :banana:I really hope the full link will be completed very soon so that we can have direct links to the valley from rest of India.

@kronik: I full agree with your suggestion of laying down a couple of arterial tracks from the main route. It will definitely help further the troubled region to get assimilated with mainstream India, and help lean the populace from terrorism.

MxC

June 5th, 2008, 06:58 PM

^^^^
As a side observation, from the limited view in this pic, the Srinagar station doesn't look good considering especially that it's a new construction. Aren't there any additional pics somewhere that show this and other stations on the new rail line?

MxC

June 5th, 2008, 07:25 PM

I was trying to find a video of the kashmir rail link, and found the following:
HuzkNo6IrOs

I am not sure if this video was already shared on this forum. If yes, it will not harm to see it again, else enjoy!

SarafIndian

June 6th, 2008, 05:52 AM

Photo by karnail

Taken on April 22, 2007

Track being laid down in Katra Valley.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/473587561_b557683c07_b.jpg

bhopalus

June 6th, 2008, 06:53 AM

so how exactly do they expect to protect this thing from terrorism? it's friggin long

Illusionist

June 6th, 2008, 06:54 AM

^^ they only protect bridges, stations and important points....

MxC

June 6th, 2008, 06:18 PM

@SarafIndian: That's quite a panoramic pic you found. Thanks!

@Indrajal.com: I think the concern raised by bhopalus is very valid, and I've raised similar concerns sometimes back for this rail line. A terrorist with a hand held rocket launcher could target these bridges, etc. from a distance. It's something which is a cause for worry, especially as we don't have info available with us which could allay those fears.

Whether we like it or not, the region is infected with terrorist trouble and vital structures like this rail link needs proper protection against this genuine threat. Now I'm sure our security agencies are on top of it, it's just that we are not aware of them, and hence worried :ohno:

Illusionist

June 6th, 2008, 08:55 PM

MXC , its impossible to protect every single stretch of this line. There is nothing security agencies can do, its just too huge.
our best bet is to catch them before they blow anything up or hope that they would not blow anything which serves their own state.

If they blow it up then they loose any little public support they might have as it is very important for the region, and if they dont then atleast people will enjoy the ride and comfort.
I have visited kashmir few times, they have security at important structures and sometimes at random places. actually security arrangement in the whole kashmir is pretty good. i went there with my american friend and it seemed as safe as any other indian city. but let me say this that i havent been to the valley though. may be its worse there.

MxC

June 6th, 2008, 09:13 PM

Hey Indrajal, I agree with you that if terrorists try to disrupt this, they will only alienate whatever local support they still have. At the same we can not take this for granted, and for which the security agencies are surely doing their job well, for we haven't heard about any incident so far (except for that engineers murder a couple years back).

So like I said, I'm sure our security agencies are on top of the situation. However we feel worried at times because we all understand the significance of this important infrstructure and it's security ramifications.

MxC

June 10th, 2008, 03:51 PM

Long wait for train in Kashmir valley to end soon (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Railways/Long_wait_for_train_in_Kashmir_valley_to_end_soon/articleshow/3115490.cms)

The long wait for a train to ply in militancy-hit Kashmir may end soon as Railways is all set to start its service linking the northern and southern part in the valley.

Though connecting the valley with rest of the country was still a distant dream, Northern Railways on Monday said "We will soon approach Prime Minister to get a date, hopefully in this month itself, for inaugurating the train services on Anantnag-Budgam section."

The official said a trial run would be conducted on the route to check whether all safety measures are in place.

The Commissioner Railway Safety will carry out a four-day statutory inspection of the 30-km-long Anantnag-Kakpora section from tomorrow.

"We are waiting for the clearance from Commissioner Railway Safety. The CRS will supervise the trial run to check safety aspects on the Anantnag-Kakpora track in the Qazigund-Baramulla section," the official said.

The official hoped that rail services would be operational on the 55-km long Anantnag-Kakapora-Budgam track from this month-end.

The train to be introduced on the route will have air-conditioned coaches with heating system and push-back seats. This is for the first time in the history of Indian Railways that a train with all these facilities will cover short distances, the official added.

The tedious task of connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, however, still remains distant as tunnels on the 300-km Kashmir-Jammu route are yet to be bored.

MxC

June 11th, 2008, 09:03 PM

This is a cause for concern, as it looks like the security of the Kashmir line is not on top of the agenda of state officials... See news item below:

At Trouble Junction (http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=91a1da45-de10-47f2-a2e8-c852480b21cf)

Residents of the Kashmir Valley may be cheering the train services being planned for the region, but there are already concerns about inadequate security along the route.

The train winding through the Valley completed a trial run between Budgam and Anantnag on June 4, covering a distance of 55 km in half an hour. Railway officials on the train were, however, troubled by the absence of protection; there are no security personnel guarding the tracks, and not a single police station or post along the track or at railway stations. The only security is in the form of CRPF personnel assigned to protect contractors executing the railway line work.

The train will pass through some of the most vulnerable areas in the Valley, such as Budgam, Pulwama, Srinagar and Anantnag districts, to which militants have clear and easy access in the absence of security.

As a matter of procedure, the state government is meant to send a proposal to the Centre for all security requirements.

According to sources, the railways had asked the state to do so more than six months ago, but no proposal has been sent till now. "The state cabinet has to make a formal recommendation to the Union Home Ministry for all security provisions. Nothing has been done," they said.

Rail work in Kashmir has always been dogged by hurdles. The ambitious project linking the Valley to the rest of the country is only 50 per cent complete, though its deadline was August 15, 2007. It took 22 years to build the 52-km railway line from Jammu to Udhampur.

As a result of these hurdles, dream run may turn into a nightmare.

BTW, the train covered 55 kms in half hr :uh:. Does it means that the trains on this line will be running at 110 kmph :?

SarafIndian

June 12th, 2008, 04:53 AM

BTW, the train covered 55 kms in half hr :uh:. Does it means that the trains on this line will be running at 110 kmph :?

Its a newly built track with advanced technology. So, it should not be a problem. Even, I expect more than that when it becomes fully operational.

MxC

June 12th, 2008, 09:00 PM

Its a newly built track with advanced technology. So, it should not be a problem. Even, I expect more than that when it becomes fully operational.

Well, good for the commuters! Its just that we are so used to slow speeds on the IR network that it was kind of hard to believe that normal passenger services would be offered at 110 kmph speeds :lol:

PlaneMad

June 12th, 2008, 09:24 PM

^^ trail run could have as well been a speed test. with no stoppings at station 110kmph is pretty decent. avg speeds could be 60kmph for normal services

vinothvasagar

June 13th, 2008, 01:47 PM

Its a newly built track with advanced technology. So, it should not be a problem. Even, I expect more than that when it becomes fully operational.

If the Rolling are made of Stainless Steel it could be light and Durable which might help to run Trains at higher speeds..

And regarding the security concerns raised by Railways, the Railways should use its own RPF (Railway Protection Force) instead of relying on CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) because inter-departmental affairs are slow and inefficient in India.
Also, when RPF takes this task, may be initially by collaborating with CRPF with a definite deadline to takeover completely, it will gain the much needed expertise and infrastructure, and ensure total protection of our Railway properties across the whole country. Remember that terrorist Targets have now-a-days shifted towards Railways as they can be attacked very easily

MxC

June 20th, 2008, 08:36 PM

Kashmir all set for train service (http://epaper.hindustantimes.com/ArticleImage.aspx?article=18_06_2008_010_004&kword=&mode=1)
Sringar: Decks have been cleared for the start of train service in Kashmir Valley with the final test trial of diesel mobile unit successful on the 70 kms Anantnag-Budgam-Baramulla rail track. DMU has passed all test trials successfully without any error on June 12, Northern Railway sources said.

zenith_suv

June 21st, 2008, 06:45 PM

Well , there was a 30 minute special on CNN-IBN today named "Train to Kashmir" which provided insights into what a boon this project has been from providing connectivity to employment to villagers , some of whom have not seen a train before either.

Terrain is extremely challenging but pulling this off would rank among one of India's greatest infrastructural achievements and rightly so .

IndiansUnite

June 22nd, 2008, 02:26 AM

Here's that video -

Part 1 (http://ibnlive.com/videos/67536/06_2008/30min_train_to_kashmir_1/30-minutes-train-to-kashmir-a-century-in-the-making.html)

Part 2 (http://ibnlive.com/videos/67536/06_2008/30min_train_to_kashmir_1a/30-minutes-train-to-kashmir-a-century-in-the-making.html)

Part 3 (http://ibnlive.com/videos/67536/06_2008/30min_train_to_kashmir_2/30-minutes-train-to-kashmir-a-century-in-the-making.html)

Part 4 (http://ibnlive.com/videos/67536/06_2008/30min_train_to_kashmir_3/30-minutes-train-to-kashmir-a-century-in-the-making.html)

Arhant

June 30th, 2008, 12:25 PM

If you google it by title, the article also had a nice photo of Budgam station, which I can't get here

A Chug In The Chinars

Connectivity, excitement come riding on the first train the valley's set to get

CHANDER SUTA DOGRA
Whistling A New Tune
• The Kashmir Valley's first-ever railway line, a 60-km stretch from Budgam to Anantnag, is ready, and will probably carry its first passengers in end-June
• The nine stations on this line include Pampore, Awantipora, Srinagar and Baramulla
• The Srinagar station is a dazzling showcase for Kashmiri art, with carved wood panelling, chandeliers and landscaped gardens
• The engines, bogies were brought up to the valley by road on special trolleys
• Heavy security cover is in place along the entire track as well as on the train
• Another 60-km stretch in the valley, from Baramulla to Qazigund is, meanwhile, nearing completion
• The final 200 km, from Qazigund to Katra in the Jammu region, presents a formidable engineering challenge, with much of the track to be laid in tunnels bored through mountains
***
Kashmir has been unusually hot this summer, keeping many people indoors and out of the sun until dusk. But now there's something drawing them outdoors at all hours of the day. At the newly constructed Budgam railway station and yard, there is always a throng of people gawking excitedly

at the railway bogies parked there. They include little Naseem and her brother Faraz, who have dragged their father to see the train. Ever since the trial runs took place in February, the two have been coming here almost every day. "Most of my evenings are now booked to come here with the children, and I have to admit that I too love to see the bogies moving in and out of the yard," says their father Fayyaz, a government employee.
Welcome to Kashmir's newest passion. Forget the militants, forget the violence, forget even 'azaadi' for a brief moment. Come evening, and all roads lead to wherever the bogies of Kashmir's first-ever railway train are parked for the day.

The first phase of the Katra-Udhampur-Baramullah all-weather railway line, meant to end Kashmir Valley's isolation from the rest of the country—it is also the nation's most ambitious railway project after Independence—is ready to roll. Although this phase does not as yet link the valley to Jammu, because the construction of the track in the hill section will take a few more years, a 120-km stretch within the valley, from Qazigund to Baramulla, will soon give Kashmiris their first experience of rail travel.

Many Kashmiris have never seen a railway train, let alone travelled in one. After years of seeing very little development in the area due to militancy, the railway line is the most exciting thing to have happened to them in a long time. Small wonder then that when trial runs for the 60-km Budgam-Anantnag section began in February this year, huge crowds turned out not just to witness this novel sight, but also to get a joyride on the train. So much so that the police had to be called in to restrain the crowds. The measure of Kashmiri enthusiasm in the rail can be gauged from college students Aziz and Rafique Ahmed are two who take visible pride in the train and railway infrastructure coming up near their home in Budgam. "We told the railway authorities that since the railway is being built on our land, they should at least give us a ride. Happily for us, they obliged, and virtually our whole village clambered aboard the train that day," says Aziz. Kids at the Srinagar railway station had a similar experience when Union railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav came visiting last month. When the bogies and railway engines were brought into the valley for the first time—carried up by road last March on specially built trolleys through the Jawahar Tunnel—it created a sensation.

The Kashmir railway project is novel for outsiders too.The newly built Srinagar railway station is drawing not only people from surrounding villages but also visiting tourists. The stunning three-storeyed railway station building, a far cry from the squalor and chaos of most stations in the plains, boasts beautifully carved wooden panelling and chandeliers, and is surrounded by landscaped gardens. "Our attempt has been to replicate the local architecture in all the 15 railway stations which fall within the valley," Bhuvnesh Khare, chief administrative officer, Northern Railways, told Outlook. "The Srinagar station is particularly prestigious and we wanted it to display local artisanship at its best, so. Kashmiri craftsmen have created the wood panelling here." In fact, the railways and their contract agency ircon International Ltd have the explicit mandate to ensure that all contracts for construction works in the 120-km valley section are given exclusively to Kashmiris. Says a railway official: "We cannot even consider contractors from Jammu because the idea is that the money for constructing the railway project should go to Kashmiris from the valley. We want them to feel a sense of ownership."

It's too early to say whether the railway will help end the decades-old sense of alienation which many Kashmiris nurse. It's also premature to predict if it will help end the violent militant activity. But what is already clear is that ordinary Kashmiris are so enthusiastic, even possessive, about the railway line that despite several attempts to sabotage the project (see box) in the last two years, militants have refrained from attacking it directly for fear of angering the local population. Railway officials in charge of ensuring its security say that although elaborate security systems for the tracks and the train have been put in place, the most effective shield are local sentiments and pride.

Commercial operations on the first 60-km section from Budgam to Anantnag will commence shortly. It has nine railway stations—at Anantnag, Baijpora, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipora, Rajvoser, Srinagar, Budgam and Baramulla. But the construction of the crucial 200-odd kilometres from Qazigund to Katra in the Jammu region, which comprises the difficult hill section, is still mired in technical and geographical hurdles. Officials say the project was initially rushed through without a comprehensive geological survey. Result: many tunnels have collapsed during construction as the rail alignment is along a geological faultline. Around 41 per cent of this track will be through tunnels which will pass through inaccessible mountainous terrain, including the longest 11-km tunnel at Banihal Pass. This phase is expected to take much longer to complete than the original 2012 deadline. However, with commercial operations scheduled to begin in the valley section very soon, most Kashmiris are waiting with mounting excitement to make this first, historic train journey in the valley.

speed_DNA

June 30th, 2008, 07:16 PM

If you google it by title, the article also had a nice photo of Budgam station, which I can't get here

A Chug In The Chinars

***

thanks for the info buddy :cheers:, it is nice to see our railway is building such a megastructes, but i feel we are lacking international fame for all the mega structres, channels like discovery and NGC all used to showcase india as a land of snake and bull carts even this 21st century. it is the time to change their mind, no one is talking here about we beat the milau viaduct....:ohno:

MxC

June 30th, 2008, 10:21 PM

Nice to read this. I googled it and could see the nice interiors of the Budgam station. You can find the story here (http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080630&fname=Kashmir+%28F%29&sid=1).

...
It's too early to say whether the railway will help end the decades-old sense of alienation which many Kashmiris nurse. It's also premature to predict if it will help end the violent militant activity. But what is already clear is that ordinary Kashmiris are so enthusiastic, even possessive, about the railway line that despite several attempts to sabotage the project (see box) in the last two years, militants have refrained from attacking it directly for fear of angering the local population. Railway officials in charge of ensuring its security say that although elaborate security systems for the tracks and the train have been put in place, the most effective shield are local sentiments and pride.
...

I really loved to read this part. All these words were like sweet music to ears! I really hope that our government will seize upon this opportunity to build upon the momentum and not leave it at it. Hope they will make more concentric efforts to get the local populace in the main stream, give them something positive to look forward to, some dignity about their lives, and finally to get them excited about their identity as Indians, not just Kashmiris, and to get them to think of themselves as an integral part of the great country that ours is.

If it could be made possible by building a railway line, then let's go all out and build more of them.

skganji

July 17th, 2008, 10:12 PM

An Image of the Banihal Rail Tunnel being constructed by HCC ( Hindusthan Construction Company ). Couldn't get rid of the Whit borders in the Image.

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/71/banihalrailtunnelyl4.jpg

MxC

July 18th, 2008, 12:16 AM

An Image of the Banihal Rail Tunnel being constructed by HCC ( Hindusthan Construction Company ). Couldn't get rid of the Whit borders in the Image.

http://img291.imageshack.us/img291/5538/banihalrailtunnelyl4bz2.jpg
Looks great. Do we know if there's a provision in the tunnel for future doubling of line?

PS: I've removed the xtra white space and rehosted it on imageshack

anujbudhkar

July 26th, 2008, 10:10 PM

Sirs,

Yes, the following bridges/ sections are being made 2-tracekd:
gambhir
jhajjar
anjikhad
chenab
T. 5 after udhampur
another tunnel of 6.7 kms before sangaldhan
T. 80 (the Pir Panjal tunnel)

As of dec 2007, 2200 m from north portal end, 1100 m from south portal end, 345 m ventilation well from the middle is done wrt this tunnel.

As also, ALL the pillars of approach bridge of Chenab valley are completed (June 2008). I cant upload pics here. Thats because it a project in a millitary area. Also, I am in contact with project personnels in that region. Yet work hasnt started in Surukot section of the railway. Its nearing end in the valley (Baramulla to Qazigund). Rly Minister will inaugurate the line on 15th aug now.

Speed trials of 125 kmph are successful in the valley. The new DMU is HP DMU (High power). Its in use in Santragachhi- Digha section of SERailway. As also in some parts of Jalandhar.

Illusionist

July 27th, 2008, 04:37 AM

vijayvmail

July 28th, 2008, 06:38 PM

Speed trials of 125 kmph are successful in the valley. The new DMU is HP DMU (High power). Its in use in Santragachhi- Digha section of SERailway. As also in some parts of Jalandhar.

This new DMU looks good. Can it be introduced in other parts of the country. Are there any specific requirements?

Suncity

July 30th, 2008, 07:33 PM

anujbudhkar

August 7th, 2008, 08:46 PM

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/345657.html

No full stops in this train journey:ohno:

New Delhi, August 6: A train may soon make its debut on a stand-alone 100-odd-km-long stretch in the Kashmir valley, but the dream of connecting Kashmir with the rest of the Indian Railways network again looks remote.

With works worth Rs 750 crore already executed and Rs 1,000 crore worth of contracts awarded on the Katra-Qazigund section — whose completion will finally allow a direct train to the Valley — the Railways Ministry has decided to suspend construction on a 70-km mountainous stretch. It is considering major changes in the alignment.

This not only threatens to push the project deadline to 2025, but will also lead to severe cost escalations and the abandonment of Rs 500 crore worth of works already executed.

In a recently issued order, a copy of which is with The Indian Express, the Railways Ministry has asked the Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL) — the agency executing works on almost half of the Katra-Qazigund section — not to commence any new work on the 70-odd-km portion entrusted to it.

While suggesting some modifications in the works already executed, the ministry’s order says that “other than the main road works, all works on the entire section with M/s KRCL be pended till further advice”.

KRCL’s Managing Director Anurag Mishra confirms receiving the orders, through the Northern Railways, “which say that all works except the main road works should be pended till further orders”.

With engineers grappling with problems in cutting through the mountains, witnessing repeated collapse of tunnel portals and movement of excavated tunnels, the ministry is considering “radical changes” in the existing alignment, including the option to abandon it completely. An alternative alignment from Kilometre 30 to Banihal at a steeper gradient, with the option of a double line in twin tunnels, is being considered.

According to highly placed sources, the Railway Ministry did not keep the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in the loop on this latest move. The PMO is learnt to have called a meeting on the project this week.

“A realignment is being thought of. The geology of the Himalayas is very fragile and the progress on this section in the last four years has been very poor,” said Railway Board’s Member, Engineering, S K Vij. “We rush into projects and we rush into targets because we are pressured to do that. Some part of the planning in this project was missing and corrections are required.”

Saying that a decision is expected soon, Vij added that the priority is to “make a line which will survive... If a line gets closed often, won’t it be unfortunate?”

The reasoning behind having lines inside tunnels is that these would be safer compared to tracks on exposed surfaces, vulnerable in terms of both security and geology and always at the risk of landslides.

Vij added that the new alignment would also require construction of just 70 km of line as opposed to the current 120 km. “One cannot promise that there will be no problems in the new alignment. But it will have lesser risk and even the cost of construction will be lesser,” he added.

skganji

September 5th, 2008, 01:51 AM

Article from Tribune India. September 4th, J&K section.
Seems the 20 years spent on the national project of connecting the Kashmir valley via rail link have gone waste, as the Ministry of Railway has plans up its sleeves to realign the Katra-Dharam and Dharam-Qazigund section.

Official sources told The Tribune that the fate of the project hanged in balance as work had been suspended on the 90-km-long Katra-Dharam section and on the 35-km-long Dharam-Qazigund section, which were being executed by the Konkan Railways and IRCON, respectively.

Sources said the nodal agency - Northern Railways - which had allegedly goofed up initiating the project without conducting any geological survey of the Himalayan range, now wanted to realign these two key sections.

Work on these two sections was suspended on July 25.

Sources said even as change in the alignment had been proposed, the Konkan Railways had already completed 10 km of the tunnelling work in the difficult terrain between Katra and Dharam.

Meanwhile, work on major bridges was in the advanced stage, while two special bridges over the Anji and Chenab had been completed partially, the sources added.

Similarly, work on the remaining tunnels and bridges, was also in the advanced stages of tendering and the decision of suspending the work was a severe blow to the project. They said work to the tune of Rs 750 crore had already been completed and suspending them would lead to another Rs 700 crore worth of claims from the contractors.

If major changes in the alignment were adopted, it would not only delay completion of the project by 13 years, but would also escalate the cost alarmingly, the sources added. It is worthwhile to mention here that the project, which initially was pegged at Rs 3,000 crores, was to be completed by 2012. But frequent delays had escalated the cost to over Rs 13,000 crore.

In the recent past, the Northern Railways after finding difficulty in exploring the Himalayan range had approached the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct a workshop for its engineers so as to acquaint them with the geological aspect of the terrain.

Sources said the railways had thought about realignment on the ground that the geology of the Himalayan range was very fragile and progress on the Katra-Dharam section in the past four years had been very poor. But the proposed alignment also fell in the same geology and may throw similar problems, sources said, adding the current alignment touched 50 major villages, including remote villages like Kouri, Surukot and Sangaldhan.

bains1971

October 13th, 2008, 11:43 AM

The first ever train service is due to open on Saturday in the disputed territory of Kashmir, claimed by both India and Pakistan. The line is in the Indian-administered part of Kashmir and could have a dramatic impact on people's lives. The BBC's Geeta Pandey has been to see the work in progress.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7471331.stm

skganji

October 24th, 2008, 10:14 PM

Source : http://20twentytwo.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

A train may soon make its debut on a stand-alone 100-odd-km-long stretch in the Kashmir valley, but the dream of connecting Kashmir with the rest of the Indian Railways network again looks remote.With works worth Rs 750 crore already executed and Rs 1,000 crore worth of contracts awarded on the Katra-Qazigund section - whose completion will finally allow a direct train to the Valley - the Railways Ministry has decided to suspend construction on a 70-km mountainous stretch. It is considering major changes in the alignment.This not only threatens to push the project deadline to 2025, but will also lead to severe cost escalations and the abandonment of Rs 500 crore worth of works already executed.In a recently issued order, the Railways Ministry has asked the Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd (KRCL) - the agency executing works on almost half of the Katra-Qazigund section - not to commence any new work on the 70-odd-km portion entrusted to it.While suggesting some modifications in the works already executed, the ministry's order says that "other than the main road works, all works on the entire section with M/s KRCL be pended till further advice".KRCL's Managing Director Anurag Mishra confirms receiving the orders, through the Northern Railways, "which say that all works except the main road works should be pended till further orders".With engineers grappling with problems in cutting through the mountains, witnessing repeated collapse of tunnel portals and movement of excavated tunnels, the ministry is considering "radical changes" in the existing alignment, including the option to abandon it completely. An alternative alignment from Kilometre 30 to Banihal at a steeper gradient, with the option of a double line in twin tunnels, is being considered.
"A realignment is being thought of. The geology of the Himalayas is very fragile and the progress on this section in the last four years has been very poor," said Railway Board's Member, Engineering, S K Vij. "We rush into projects and we rush into targets because we are pressured to do that. Some part of the planning in this project was missing and corrections are required."
Saying that a decision is expected soon, Vij added that the priority is to "make a line which will survive... If a line gets closed often, won't it be unfortunate?"
The reasoning behind having lines inside tunnels is that these would be safer compared to tracks on exposed surfaces, vulnerable in terms of both security and geology and always at the risk of landslides.Vij added that the new alignment would also require construction of just 70 km of line as opposed to the current 120 km. "One cannot promise that there will be no problems in the new alignment. But it will have lesser risk and even the cost of construction will be lesser," he added.
However, not all within the Railway establishment toe this line. One argument against it is that the new alignment also falls in the same geology and may throw up similar problems. Many officials are of the view that minor modifications in the existing alignment would see the project through.The proposal to have a steeper gradient is also being countered, with officials pointing out that increasing the gradient from 1 in 100 to 1 in 60 will make it extremely difficult to run longer loaded freight trains on the route. Others say having lines under tunnels raises questions of access, ventilation and safety.The other argument against a new line alignment is that while the present one from Kauri to Banihal touches 50 major villages, the changed one may only touch eight big ones since a major portion of the track will be inside tunnels with the possibility of the longest tunnel stretching up to 26 km. "Economic development has already taken place in remote villages like Kauri, Surkot and Sangaldan in anticipation of railway stations coming up there. Since these villages will not figure in the new alignment, it may lead to local discontent. Also, with long tunnels proposed in the new alignment, construction of the proposed connecting roads will also have to be stopped, shattering the local aspirations of connectivity to remote areas," said an official.
Incidentally, the proposed new alignment is currently only on paper and has not been subjected to any geo-technical investigations. Finalising it could take another three years. "This will push the completion date to 2025 and will escalate the total cost of the project to Rs 50,000 crore," said an official, requesting anonymity. Currently, the project is estimated to cost Rs 13,000 crore.It has also been pointed out that the land acquisition and forest clearances for this section took almost five years and are now at a very advanced stage.The Railways Ministry will also have to contend with the repercussions of a change in the alignment now. "Contracts worth approximately Rs 1,200 crore have already been awarded and the contractors have been fully mobilised. Halting works means they will now sit idle and mount claims on the Railways for the delay," a senior official said. "Further, works worth Rs 750 crore have already been completed and suspending them now will lead to another Rs 700 crore worth of claims from contractors."
However, a section of senior Railway officials sees nothing wrong in considering a new alignment. "Things like these are bound to happen in difficult projects like these. Nobody could have determined in advance the kinds of challenges young mountains like the Himalayas could throw up. It is rather premature to jump to any conclusions. We are only talking of a new survey for an alternative alignment. There is no use constructing a line and burning your fingers later on," a top Railway Board official dealing with the project said.
Incidentally, among those opposed to the ministry's order to halt all works is Railway Board Chairman K C Jena. He has expressed clear reservations against abandoning the present alignment, calling this "unusual step" a "serious issue". "The same could only be thought of provided the un-workability of the present alignment was totally established, along with the feasibility and technological suitability of the proposed alignment," Jena wrote in an official communication following a recent inspection of the project. "Without necessary geo-technical investigations for the proposed alignment, possibly, it would not be prudent to abandon the present alignment as well as the works in progress," Jena wrote.
Reasoning for change: 'If a line gets closed, won't it be unfortunate?'
• Lines inside tunnels would be safer compared to tracks on exposed surfaces, which are vulnerable to landslides, attacks.
• Would require construction of just 70 km of line as opposed to the current 120 km.
• Says Railway Board's Member, Engineering, S K Vij: "We rush into projects and we rush into targets because we are pressured to do that. Some part of the planning in this project was missing and corrections are required."
• Saying that a decision is expected soon, Vij added that the priority is to "make a line which will survive... If a line gets closed often, won't it be unfortunate?"
Reasoning against change: 'Will push completion to 2025, push up costs to Rs 50,000 crore'
• Proposed new alignment falls in the same geology and may throw up similar engineering problems.
• Increasing the gradient from 1 in 100 to 1 in 60 will make it extremely difficult to run longer loaded freight trains
• Having lines under tunnels raises questions of access, ventilation and safety.
• While the present alignment from Kauri to Banihal touches 50 major villages, the changed one may only touch eight big ones since a major portion of the track will be inside tunnels with the possibility of the longest tunnel stretching up to 26 km. "Economic development has already taken place in remote villages in anticipation of railway stations coming up there," points out an official.
• No geo-technical investigations done yet on new alignment. Finalising it, getting clearances could taanother three years.

Madras_Fan

October 25th, 2008, 12:33 AM

One Small consolation on seeing the news that project may go through

Northern Rlys wants Chenab bridge scrapping reconsidered

NEW DELHI. The four-year-old project of building the world's highest bridge on Chenab has been scrapped by the Railway Board for lack of safety
and stability. Rather than implementing the decision, Northern Railways has asked the board to "reconsider" its decision on political and other extraneous considerations.

In a letter dated September 20, general manager of Northern Railways Shri Prakash said that he wanted the Chenab bridge, which is part of the first railway link to Kashmir valley, to be revived for three broad reasons:

• Representations from politicians and local media reports seeking resumption of work on the existing alignment.

• At a review meeting on September 10, Jammu & Kashmir governor N N Vohra "expressed concern" over the suspension of all work
since July on the 125-km stretch from Katra to Banihal in Jammu region, including the Chenab bridge.

• The issue was "highly sensitive" as the proposal of modifying the Katra-Banihal alignment, including the plan to shift the Chenab bridge a couple of kilometers upstream from a gorge to a wide valley, might lead to "great public resentment in the villages that are likely to be excluded with the change of alignment."

Nowhere in his two-page letter did Shri Prakash address the instability of the gorge because of which in these four years the sub-contractor of the project, Ultra-Afcons-VSL, could not even excavate the slopes for building the foundation of the mega arch bridge. He was silent on this issue although it was the main reason why on September 4, Railway Board's member (engineering) S K Vij had ordered that all contracts for a 34-km stretch from Katra to Surukot, including the Chenab bridge, be "short closed."

Since this "project of national importance" is financed directly from the consolidated fund of India, Shri Prakash also glossed over Vij's concern about the idling claims made by tunnel and bridge contractors for the abandoned 34-km stretch mounting to Rs 1,000 crores, which includes Rs 300 crores for the Chenab bridge alone.

The colossal wastage of taxpayers' money on this nonstarter prompted Vij to record on September 26 that Shri Prakash should have "implemented orders to avoid idling claims."

As for the GM's argument that the relocation of the track might anger the villages that are likely to be excluded, Vij pointed that the modified alignment would not affect the residents of those remote places since the main access road of 250 km from Katra to Banihal was still being built. The proposed route will have about the same number of stations, including the one at Reasi, the only township which has a population of over 10,000 along the present and proposed alignments.

Rejecting Shri Prakash's plea to stick to the existing alignment, Vij recorded that he should instead have come up with suggestions on what else could be done to allay the apprehensions of local people till work starts on the modified alignment. "Within the revisions contemplated in alignment, what more can be continued should be brought out by him for decision."

Though Vij is authorized to have the final say on the matter, Shri Prakash has continued to defy him and has still not terminated the contracts, which are piling up the government's liabilities. The GM has been able to get away with such defiance because railway minister Lalu Yadav has also signaled his opposition to the idea of modifying the alignment for improving the stability and safety of the railway line. For the last two months, Yadav has been sitting on the Railway Board's proposal to set up a high level expert committee to examine the need for modifying the alignment.

The stalemate on the Jammu side of the J&K rail link prevents the isolated stretch of the line in the Kashmir valley, which was inaugurated with much fanfare by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on October 11, from being connected with the rest of the country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Northern_Rlys_wants_Chenab_bridge_scrapping_reconsidered/articleshow/3630732.cms

skganji

October 25th, 2008, 02:45 AM

From the outset , even the new alignment is prone to the same issues as the old one. I don't know how it makes a big difference by changing the alignment. What were they doing all these days ?.Hope they will make a right decision towards achieving the aim of connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. They should seek advise and help of expertise in this area and make a decision.

Madras_Fan

October 27th, 2008, 05:07 PM

Seems New alignment is almost decided(Which includes Chenab Bridge scrapping) as per the recent news.. Though alignment seems to be straight and reduced distance, it left many villages unconnected for which its intended for

Course correction saves Kashmir train
26 Oct 2008, 0352 hrs IST, Manoj Mitta , TNN

NEW DELHI: Two weeks after its inauguration by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first railway line in the Kashmir valley has undergone a major change. Its under-construction route to cross the Himalayan barrier and join the rest of the country has been revised extensively to make it shorter, safer and more cost effective.

On October 23, the Railway Board's member (engineering) S K Vij ordered a slew of modifications, including the shifting of the much touted Chenab bridge 2.5 km upstream and thereby slashing its height by more than half from 350 metres to 160 metres.

This follows his September 4 decision, first reported in TOI, scrapping the four-year-old project of building the world's highest bridge on Chenab as the gorge in the landslide prone Himalayas was found to be too unstable to bear the weight of the proposed mega arch.

The latest order makes it clear that the mega arch bridge plan has been discarded because the site has "many shortcomings" and a study done by Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, has also brought out "the limitations and difficulties" involved in the project.

If the October 23 decision is taken to its logical conclusion, the modified alignment for the entire line between Katra and Banihal in the treacherous high relief region of Jammu will be reduced from 125 km to 69 km as it is based on the latest technology of tunneling through the mountains (in preference to skirting them).

Since the modified alignment is going to be straighter, it will cut down on 11 sharp turns, including two hairpin bends, in the single-tube tunnels that were originally planned to be built. In a major safety measure, Vij ordered that the tunnels should have twin tubes, which will not only make construction easier but also help evacuate passengers in the event of a train accident (fire, collision or derailment) inside the mountain.

Just the as the Chenab bridge is being shifted out of a gorge, the other bridges on the modified alignment will also be located on more stable slopes in wider valleys. In fact, the number of bridges reduces drastically from 93 to nine and tunnels from 64 to 10. As Vij put it in his order, "There will be savings in the cost of overall project besides improving constructability and survivability."

Despite the benefit of an additional line, the modified alignment is estimated by the board to result in the saving of about Rs 1,000 crores. Since the board will now have to write off collapses and damages to the tune of Rs 700 crores and idling claims from contracts of Rs 1,000 crores, Vij ordered that the new contracts should incorporate clauses regarding "risk sharing for geological surprises."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Course_correction_saves_Kashmir_train/articleshow/3641726.cms

skganji

October 27th, 2008, 06:34 PM

Thank god. Finally some decision has been taken . Hope the work on the new line will start soon.

skganji

October 28th, 2008, 07:20 PM

http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/863/081010123536railwaylargbt1.jpg

Nearly a decade after work began on an ambitious plan to connect Kashmir's mountainous villages with the rest of the country by a railway link, it has come apart with Lalu Prasad Yadav's Ministry doing a sudden U-turn and abandoning work on the longest section between Katra and Qazigund.

This section is the crucial part of the 346-km railway link. The Jammu-Udhampur section was completed in April 2005. Construction from the other end of the line has also made considerable progress but now it appears that they may never meet since the fate of the major connecting section is in limbo.

It seems to have suddenly dawned on the Railway Board that the alignment of the 148 km-stretch is all wrong, and now they propose a relatively shorter (92 km) alternate alignment, based on "toposheet and satellite imageries".

And who do they blame for the loss of Rs 2,000 crore and 10 years of hard work? "It was a political decision. In 2002, prime minister Vajpayee announced that Srinagar will be connected with the rest of the country through a railway line. We were forced to start the work without proper surveys," claims Railway Board Member (Engineering) S.K. Vij.

"It was my decision to stop work. For four-and-a-half years that the work on the section has been going on, it is all wrong professionally and from the engineering point of view," he says. His statement is, however, refuted by engineers and experts.

"What Vajpayee did was to declare it a national project and ensure that funds would be available. There is no point politicising the issue just because the Railways have messed it up," says an engineer with the project.

The Baramulla stretch which is now rendered uselessS.P.S. Jain and R.R. Jaruhar, who supervised the work before Vij, counter the claim that the existing alignment is not feasible and also that work on the section had begun without proper surveys. "For the first time, the Railways used Digital Laser Terrain Modelling.

Remote sensing and satellite imagery were used to get the exact alignment. It was mapped in great detail. Geological and seismic studies were conducted. Aerial surveys were also done. This was followed by physical surveys of most of the terrain," says a technical officer in the Railways.

That it is a prestige project is evident by the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh too has been tracking its progress. Alarmed by the turn of events, his office has asked for a status report on the project and reasons for stopping the work on the section.

The decision to stop work has also invited queries from the Cabinet Secretariat, Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry.

The Konkan Railway Construction Ltd (KRCL), incharge of the disputed section, and Indian Railway Construction Company, which is constructing the adjoining section, have told the Railways that they have no problems with the present alignment but the ministry has given written directions to KRCL not to commence any new work.

The ministry's order says: "Other than the main road works, all works on the entire section with M/s KRCL be pended (sic) till further advice."

Work on the main 148-km stretch has been suspended for technical reasonsClick here to Enlarge
Jaruhar says, "We knew right from the beginning that Katra-Qazigund section is not going to be easy. We had to cross the Chenab and tunnel through the Pir Panjal ranges. But technically, we knew it was possible. It still is. Minor changes in alignment have been made along the way, and more can be made. A completely new alignment is a waste of money and time."

In fact, it can push the deadline for completion of the line to as late as 2025. Vij presents a more optimistic picture. "Not before 2015," he says. Restarting the work on new alignment would take another five to seven years since the process will have to begin from scratch.

The plan, according to the Railways' engineering chief, is to get a geological survey of the new proposed alignment done and follow it up with an on-the-ground survey. Following that, tenders would be called and awarded, and only then would work recommence.

"We are going to get a geological survey done by an Austrian expert at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Meanwhile, an expert committee has been constituted to study the alignments and take a view," Vij says. The committee is still to be cleared by the railway minister, however.

Government sources say that, irrespective of the views of the committee, the Railways will have to go back to the Cabinet for any change in the alignment since it is a national project funded by the Government.

Moreover, the line was envisioned more as a strategic and psychological project with international ramifications. The claims and counters only cloud the issue further.

"The idea was to connect Kashmiris even in the remotest areas to the rest of the country. The new proposed alignment defeats the very idea. The existing alignment was chosen since it connects more than 50 villages, as against barely seven in the new one," says a senior bureaucrat.

Whatever the eventual fate of the project, its diplomatic and political impact means that politics, and not economics, will cast the final vote. Till then, the project stays derailed.
Source : http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&issueid=75&id=17182&Itemid=1&sectionid=36

skganji

October 29th, 2008, 10:15 PM

A six-member expert committee has been formed by the railways to suggest a new alignment in the Katra-Qazigund section of the Kashmir rail link project.
Headed by V K Agnihotri, a former railway Board member, the committee will have T N Singh, IIT Mumbai professor, R P S Chauhan, DDG Geological Survey of India, Ravinder Kumar, Punjab University, P K Sud, tunneling expert and Rolf Stadelmann of Amberg Engineering, Switzerland.

The work has been suspended for more than a month on the 70-km stretch in Katra-Qazigund section as the proposed alignment work is found to be too problematic.

The expert team will study the area between Katra and Dharam in the Qazigund section and suggest an alternative alignment, said a senior Railways Ministry official.

The earlier survey of the 70 km-long Rs 6,800 crore project was found to be inadequate. The work could not progress much due to repeated collapse of tunnels while cutting the mountains for the rail route.

"The existing alignment is causing so much problem that we decided to stop the work. In any case very little progress has been made since the commencement of the work in the last four-and-half years," said the official and added "the work was stopped to avoid wastage of money and resources on the project."

However, suspension of work is expected to further delay the project. The project is vital for Jammu and Kashmir as it is expected to boost the development and economy of the state.

The 70-km stretch between Katra and Dharam in the Katra-Qazigund segment is the most difficult terrain of the project, consisting of steep slopes intersected by a number of rivers. Besides geological challenges, climatic condition is also severe in the area.

Work was believed to have been commissioned without a proper geological survey of the area.

"It was not a full-fledged survey in that Himalayan region because many locations were not approachable," said a senior official in the Ministry adding, "It caused major problems during the execution of the work."

While the issue has to be examined afresh, the suspension of the work will result in further delay in completing the project.

Earlier, in a letter written to the Konkan Railway which is the executing agency of the 70-km Katra-Qazigund line, Railways Ministry had asked that all work be stopped, except for the construction of a main road in the segment, till further orders.

The ministry has suggested examination of an alternative alignment between Katra and Dharam in the Katra-Qazigund section as the current one faced with major hurdles.

"The future course of action in the section depends upon the reports of the six-member expert committee," said the official.

The Katra-Qazigund segment is part of the 292-km long Kashmir rail link project estimated to cost about Rs 11,000 crore.

However, barring this segment, work on rest of the section of this important national project will continue on the Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla rail line.

Completion of this project will expand transport facilities to the state and provide an all-weather means of transport in the area.

Source : http://www.screenindia.com/news/Expert-committee-to-suggest-new-alignment-in-KatraQazigund/355963/

anujbudhkar

November 10th, 2008, 03:37 PM

The chenab bridge scrapping is not yet confirmed. Its just the politics of IRCON company. SK Vij belongs to it and IRCON is since long trying to intervene the KRCL work. The KRCL contracts are now ended. So IRCON would take up construction. whether or not it'll use the same alignment or not thats a big question.

There are many people in IRCON for whom projects like this one is a money-minting process. This makes it clear why the project is on its way to be abandoned.

skganji

November 10th, 2008, 06:34 PM

The Irony is that these people are not really interested in thinking of finishing the project, they are rather interested in their own selfish gains . Also, it seems that about 20 - 30 % of the Banihal tunnel is already completed. So, it is a huge waste of money if they stop work on this tunnel and the chenab bridge.

Madras_Fan

November 12th, 2008, 04:26 AM

skganji

November 12th, 2008, 09:56 PM

skganji

The alignment of Banihal rail tunnel is not changed. In both plans it remains in the same alignment and hence it wont affect the project.Already 4.5 kms of 12 kms is completed

Proposal is actually to change katra - Banihal alignment in to almost straight line with higher gradient. By this heavy freight trains cant be operated and its not connecting villages in the middle to which the whole link is intended for

I am not sure about what you are saying is true about the Banihal tunnel not getting scrapped with the alignment change. If the chenab bridge is scrapped , I am guessing Banihal tunnel will also be scrapped as it just follows the existing chenab bridge present alignment. As per the newspaper articles, the chenab bridge is moved some 500 meters north/south and there is no way that they can use the Banihal tunnel with this new alignment of the chenab bridge.

Madras_Fan

November 13th, 2008, 05:11 PM

I am not sure about what you are saying is true about the Banihal tunnel not getting scrapped with the alignment change. If the chenab bridge is scrapped , I am guessing Banihal tunnel will also be scrapped as it just follows the existing chenab bridge present alignment. As per the newspaper articles, the chenab bridge is moved some 500 meters north/south and there is no way that they can use the Banihal tunnel with this new alignment of the chenab bridge.

Chenab bridges is moved and many vlillages is left untouched but still the banihal tunnel alignment is not changed. The link follows chenab for certain distance and after that it goes north whereas chenab river is east - west. Instead of going Zig zig to touch banihal the new alignment is going almost straight to touch banihal.. Banihal - Qazigund is crossing pir panjal via tunnel.

Added

See the map in the following Link

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India_drops_plans_for_worlds_highest_bridge/articleshow/3473521.cms

Yellow Line is old alignment and Red line is new alignment proposed. Whereas between Banihal and Qazigund (Crossing pir panjal through 12 kms Tunnel) the alignment is not changed......Never mind its a bad decision to suspend the project now and looking for new alignment

kronik

November 14th, 2008, 07:56 AM

meanwhile....

Kashmir train a hit on first day (http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200810121614.htm)

Kashmir's forest train service inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh became an instant hit on the very first day of its commercial operation, forcing the railway authorities to refund the tickets to many who could not board the train due to heavy rush.

"The train is already full with all the eight coaches packed .... most of the passengers have bought tickets upto Anantnag which makes it unlikely for passengers from other stations to board the train," a railway official at Srinagar railway station told PTI. Asked how many tickets would need to be refunded, the official said it was too early to say anything about the numbers. "We will refund tickets of all those passengers who have not been able to make the journey from Srinagar to Anantnag due to the paucity of seats on the train," he said.

He said it would be impossible for passengers to board the train from other stations between Srinagar and Anantnag. The train service, which become commercially operational from today, runs four times a day between Rajwansher in Budgam district and Anantnag district with a maximum seating capacity of 720 persons per train. There is already a demand from general public that the frequency of the train be increased so that the service can be beneficial for people.

Arul Murugan

November 15th, 2008, 12:51 PM

DEMU crawling in Snowing Kashmir with protection

http://tm.dinakaran.com/15112008/TM_151108_E1_08_03%20SLM.jpg

Dinakaran

satsk3

November 16th, 2008, 12:41 PM

DEMU crawling in Snowing Kashmir with protection

Dinakaran

^^WOW.. what a capture...!!! Simpy Superb
Great job by the Photographer :cheers:

PlaneMad

November 17th, 2008, 08:05 AM

would this be the only section on IR with snow?

sgups

November 17th, 2008, 11:01 PM

^^^ kalka-shimla would also be snow-affected.

SarafIndian

November 18th, 2008, 06:02 AM

^^ Sometimes in Darjeeling Himalayan Railway too. But the amount of snow falls is not comparable with Kashmir.

Abhay

November 18th, 2008, 06:28 PM

Turnout at the first phase of Kashmir polls has been huge. Could it be that the train has done something to cool down sentiments?? BBC reports that even a former militant has decided to contest elections and shun the bullet for the ballot. :banana::banana::banana:

skganji

November 18th, 2008, 06:48 PM

antriksh_sfo

February 13th, 2009, 07:05 PM

It could be the railways effect and may also be Obama's effect.

Hey Guys,
Pls update us with the present situation.
Away from India, we have no details about the progress.
Let us keep this thread running.
It is prideful posession.

Euromast

February 14th, 2009, 11:47 AM

Kashmir gets rail link, international flights (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kashmir-gets-rail-link-international-flights/85318-3.html)

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir will get a twin boost from United Progressive Alliance Chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi when she inaugurates a crucial Kashmir rail link on Saturday.

The Kashmir rail link will cover 100 kilometre from Anantnag to Baramullah, criss-crossing five districts and is the world's second highest train project.

"We have connected the train to the last point that is Baramulla. Although nothing is decided yet, we can even go up to Kupwara or even Uri," said Virender Kumar, Deputy Divisional Engineer, Northern Railways.

Officials say the Kashmir train is expected to link with the rest of the country by 2015 but train within Kashmir is now a reality with another 32 kilometre added to the Baramulla-Qazigund edition.

It will link the last 20 kilometre to Qazigund by June but the 148 kilometre of difficult stretch from Katra to Qazigund continues to pose a challenge for the Rs 11,000-crore project

vedio (http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/85318/kashmir-gets-rail-link-international-flights.html)

skganji

February 15th, 2009, 07:28 AM

The biggest hurdle in completing the project is the remaining portion of the Katra-Qazigund link. Currently the work is supsended on this stretch and they have appointed experts to study an alternative alignment.

"Railways have roped in an Austrian expert to suggest a new alignment for the Katra-Qazigund section of the Kashmir rail project where work has been suspended for nearly six months due to problems in working out a way in the treacherous terrain.

Austrian expert John Golser has been included in the seven-member committee headed by former Railway Board Chairman M Ravindra to suggest a new alignment in the 70 km Katra-Qazigund section.

Beside the expert committee, Rolf Stadelmann of Amberg Engineering, Switzerland has also been hired as a consultant to conduct an independent survey of the proposed alignment.

The earlier survey of the Rs 6,800 crore project was found to be inadequate. Work could not progress due to repeated collapse of tunnels while cutting the mountains for the rail route.

"The existing alignment was causing so much problem that we decided to stop the work to avoid wastage of money and resources on the project," said a senior Railway Ministry official.

The stretch between Katra and Dharam in the Katra-Qazigund segment has the most difficult terrain consisting of steep slopes intersected by a number of rivers. Besides geological challenges, climatic conditions are also harsh in the area.

The expert team is examining the area between Katra and Dharam to suggest an alternative alignment, said the official, adding the committee has been told to submit the report by the month end."

Source : etalaat.com

jstarra49

February 15th, 2009, 08:24 PM

The stretch between Katra and Dharam in the Katra-Qazigund segment has the most difficult terrain consisting of steep slopes intersected by a number of rivers. Besides geological challenges, climatic conditions are also harsh in the area.

The expert team is examining the area between Katra and Dharam to suggest an alternative alignment, said the official, adding the committee has been told to submit the report by the month end."
Where exactly is Dharam? Could someone possibly point it out on Google Maps? I can find Katra and also can see the rail alignment upto Katra on Google Maps.

Is it then the case that work continues unabated from Dharam to Quazigund, which presumably includes the tunnel between Banihal and Quazigund?

Thanks.

Bombay2Calcutta

September 7th, 2009, 07:47 AM

Chug to Kashmir through India’s longest tunnel
MUZAFFAR RAINA

Source : The Telegraph
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090907/jsp/frontpage/story_11460483.jsp

A train comes out of the Wushaoling tunnel in China
Srinagar, Sept. 6: Jammu and Kashmir is bracing for a rare feat: the opening of the country’s longest railway tunnel that will realise the century-old dream of connecting the Valley with the rest of India by train.

Eight kilometres of the 11km tunnel have been completed, and it is set to be opened for traffic by December next year. The tunnel will run from Qazigund in the Valley to Banihal in Jammu, boring through the mighty Pir Panjal mountains.

It will be Asia’s second-largest tunnel, behind only the 20km Wushaoling tunnel in Gansu, northwest China, easily beating India’s current longest, the 6.5km Karbude tunnel of the Konkan Railway.

“This is surely an engineering marvel,” said Colonel Parminder Singh, assistant general manager of Ircon, the railway ministry arm constructing the tunnel. “We have completed 4.5km from the Banihal side and 3.5km from the Qazigund side. We are now in the last stage of the project.”

The Rs 647-crore project will cap another milestone by the railways — the 119km stretch from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Qazigund in south Kashmir, which became operational a few months ago.

However, a Valley resident who catches a train from Baramulla or Srinagar and arrives in Banihal will then have to ride a bus or car to Udhampur before he can take a train again to travel deeper into India. The railway stretch from Banihal to Udhampur is yet to be completed.

Work on the tunnel began six years ago simultaneously with the Qazigund-Baramulla stretch after then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced a 292km rail link between Baramulla and Udhampur, connecting the Valley with the rest of country, a project conceived more than 100 years ago.

When completed, it would be a viable alternative to the 300km Jammu-Srinagar highway, on which travel is risky but which is now the only surface link between Kashmir and the rest of India.

The Rs 11,000-crore rail link is divided into three sections — Udhampur-Katra, Katra-Qazigund and Qazigund-Baramulla. The third stretch alone stands completed and is operational.

The remaining two sections pass through difficult terrain and will have numerous tunnels and bridges, including the world’s highest bridge, 359 metres high and 1.3km long, over the river Chenab.

Only when these two sections are complete will the dream of a long-distance train chugging into the Valley from mainland India be realised. Work on the Katra-Qazigund stretch, however, was stopped last year after some experts raised doubts about the track alignment.

But work on the Qazigund-Banihal tunnel has continued uninterrupted, and care is being taken to provide it with modern drainage, fire-fighting and ventilation facilities. The tunnel has a three-metre-wide road running parallel to the tracks to deal with emergencies.

Construction is being done following the Austrian tunnelling method, first used in India for the Delhi Metro. The method involves the integration of surrounding soil formations into a ring-like support structure.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090907/images/jammubig.jpg

jstarra49

September 10th, 2009, 11:31 PM

So I suppose the writer of this article does not consider Japan to be part of Asia then? Since if he did, he might have noticed that Sei-ken at 53.85km and Iwate-ichinohe at 25.81km and Dai-shimizu at 22.22km are all railway tunnels that are longer than the Wushaoling at 21.05km. It turns out that there are another 14 or so railway tunnels in China, Japan, Taiwan and Asian Russia that are longer than 11km. Oh well, newspaper article writers are not known for being very thorough in their research.

Naresh

October 11th, 2009, 12:41 PM

.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh postpones visit to Kashmir for opening railway line (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Prime-Minister-Manmohan-Singh-postpones-visit-to-Kashmir-for-opening-railway-line/articleshow/5112079.cms)

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has postponed by over a week his planned visit to Kashmir, during which he will inaugurate a 12-km railway line connecting Anantnag and Qazigund that will mark the completion of the rail project in the valley.

The Prime Minister was scheduled to visit the state on October 18 but it had to be postponed because of the non-availability of railway minister Mamata Banerjee, official sources said.

Singh, who is expected to tour the state for two days, is now likely to be there on October 27. During his visit, he is expected to review the railway project connecting the Kashmir valley with Jammu region, the sources said.

He may also review the Dal project besides progress in other developmental schemes under the Prime Minister's Reconstruction Plan.

The Prime Minister had inaugurated the 66-km long section from Anantnag to Mazhom last year. Congress president Sonia Gandhi had earlier this year inaugurated the 35-km-long Mazhom-Baramulla line, part of the 119-Km Qazigund-Baramulla railway line.

An amount of Rs 2,551 crore has been incurred on the Qazigund-Baramulla railway link till end of December last year.

Singh, who was also present at the inauguration early this year, had said the line was bound to catalyse economic growth in the Kashmir valley with the availability of cheaper and more reliable transport.

Cheers:cheers:

kronik

October 12th, 2009, 11:39 PM

Thanks for the update. Hadn't heard about it for a while now.

although there is an unfortunate news of a derailment earlier this month on the track though. Nobody was hurt.

satsk3

October 28th, 2009, 01:18 PM

Video: Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/videoshow/5172117.cms)

News: -
http://www.ndtv.com/news/images/inaugurationbig.jpg

After nine years of wait another crucial part of the Kashmir train line - between Qazigund and Baramullah - is complete, connecting South Kashmir to its north. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is on a two-day visit to the state, today inaugurated the crucial rail link.

This is now the fastest way to travel across the Kashmir Valley: Two hours as against the four hour travel by road.

"This will connect us to every state. It will bring profits. If sending goods in trucks costs Rs 10,000, on a train it will cost just Rs 2,000," said Ali Muhammad, a Qazigund resident.

The line is complete, but the project is not.

Now Baramulla and Qazigund are connected at one end and Katra and Jammu on the other. But the most crucial part - 70 kilometres in between connecting Qazigund to Katra - is underway. It's a route that passes through the steep Pir Panjal Mountains.

The project is an engineering marvel of sorts.

Once built, the 290 kilometre track will boast of 750 rail bridges and hundreds of kilometres of tunnels.

The longest tunnel is 11 kilometres, the highest rail bridge is at 359 metres, and the longest bridge will be 1,315 metres long across Chenab River.

At one point in the Pir Panjal Mountains the track is built at 11,000 feet. The project deadline is 2017.

"The whole area is mountainous and there are a number of tunnels. This area has deep gorges, rivers like Chenab and Alji, and bridges that are very high," said Hari Shankar Yadav, the chief engineer.

Travelling in this train is a dream come true for every Kashmiri. It will run from South to North Kashmir connecting the entire Kashmir valley. Now the big question is how much time will it take to get connected with the rest of the Indian Railway network.

Source : NDTV (http://www.ndtv.com/news/india/train_in_kashmir_a_dream_comes_true.php) (Video Available)

sidney_jec

October 28th, 2009, 01:29 PM

great news :)
better connectivity will help Kashmiris to be a part of the mainstream, job creation and a lot more..
may be this would help solve the problems to some extent..
just a little step but a significant one IMO..

antriksh_sfo

October 28th, 2009, 02:07 PM

Great News.
Congratulations everyone.

Imagine the cost saving, prosperity, pollution reduction, inclusive development that would come up once the whole line is complete.
Hope the line is completed in 2012/2013 rather than 2017.

I had been in Kashmir and had taken with me my parents, that was an awesome experience. I loved that. It has been long wait we want inclusion of all people into the Mainstream.

All the best. Can someone post few pix also.

Illusionist

October 28th, 2009, 04:18 PM

about time kashmir got a better way of transportation..
way to go IR.

Bombay2Calcutta

October 28th, 2009, 08:43 PM

:applause:

Bombay2Calcutta

October 28th, 2009, 08:44 PM

Tracking Jammu and Kashmir's rail history

When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday flagged off a train bedecked with flowers on the 18-km stretch between Qazigund and Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley, he actualised a dream that Jammu and Kashmir's Dogra rulers had seen more than a century ago.

Maharaja Pratap Singh first explored the possibility of a railway line connecting Jammu with Srinagar in 1898 but the idea was put on hold because of complications involved in laying the track over a hilly terrain.

However, in 1905, the maharaja approved a railway line between Jammu and Srinagar via Reasi through the historic Mughal Road. Involving a 763 mm gauge railway climbing through the Mughal Road at 11,000 feet on the Pir Panjal Range, this would have been a spectacular low gauge. But an elevated pass would have meant it was not all weather which made it impractical.

With partition in 1947, the state was disconnected from the Indian rail grid and a new line from Pathankot to Jammu had to be laid.

Manmohan Singh Wednesday became the sixth Indian prime minister - after Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi, I.K. Gujral, Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee - to inaugurate railway projects and trains in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 1983, Indira Gandhi laid the foundation for the 54-km Jammu-Udhampur stretch. The railways later promised that a rail link would be extended by 290 km to Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley. But nothing was done till 1996, when then prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao sanctioned Rs.2,600 crore for the extension of the rail link from Udhampur to Baramulla, covering 290 km.

After that, there was no headway in the project for many years. But then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared it as a national project in 2003.

The project has been divided into three parts - 41 km long Udhampur to Katra, 130 km long Katra to Qazigund and the 119 km Qazigund to Baramulla, which was thrown open Wednesday.

The 66 km section of Qazigund-Baramulla - from Anantnag to Mazhama - was inaugurated by Manmohan Singh in October last year, Sonia Gandhi later did the honours of inaugurating the 35 km section from Mazhom to Baramulla earlier this year.

But the railway link from Udhampur to Qazigund- that will connect Kashmir with the rest of India - remains incomplete, which is said to be the most difficult project in the subcontinent.

The terrain passes through the Himalayas. The alignment presents one of the greatest engineering challenges. What makes the route even more complex is a pass through the Himalayan foothills and the Pir Panjal range, with most peaks exceeding 15,000 feet in height.

shanware

October 28th, 2009, 09:46 PM

:cheers:....fantastic news !:applause:

satsk3

October 29th, 2009, 08:23 AM

Bombay2Calcutta,

Good work, That was a brief history of Jammu-Baramulla Rail link

Thanks for Sharing...

skganji

October 29th, 2009, 10:09 PM

I am seeing contradictory news on the status of the Banihal Railway Tunnel. This article published on www.groundreport.com says that the tunnel will be completed by December 2010 at another website it says the tunnel is already completed. It looks like the following information is accurate.

Srinagar, August 24 (Vijay Kumar) - J&K Governor, N. N. Vohra, on Monday inspected Qazigund Railway Station and took stock of the amenities being put in place for the passengers.
The Governor also paid a visit to the Railway Tunnel site at Lower Munda in south Kashmir and took stock of the pace of work on the construction of this 11 km long Pir Panjal Railway tunnel connecting Qazigund with Banihal. The Chief Engineer apprised the Governor that out of the 11 km long tunnel, the work on eight km-four and a half km from Banihal side and three and a half km from Qazigund side-has been completed so far while the entire tunnel is scheduled to be completed by December 2010. He said that thereafter the process for laying of track will commence.
It may mentioned here that the tunnel from Banihal to Qazigund on the Udhampur-Srinagar line is going be Indian Railways’ largest, and the second largest in Asia after the recently completed, 20-km Wushaoling tunnel in Gansu, northwest China. The longest operational rail tunnel in India is the 6.5-km Karbude on the Konkan railways. A team of about 500 has been working under the mountains round the clock and aims to finish the tunnel by December 2010.
The Governor went round the hi-tech ASM-cum-Panel Room and Solid State Interlocking Room. The Governor was briefed about the entire site plan of the Railway Station with details of the facilities, by the senior Railway Officers.The Chief Engineer, Construction, North-East, Northern Railway, Chahatey Ram, while briefing the Governor, said that the latest technology has been introduced at Qazigund Railway Station to facilitate quick train movements.The Chief Engineer stated that the Commissioner of Railway Safety has given clearance for operating DMU on 19 km Qazigund-Anantnag stretch of the Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project.

Illusionist

October 29th, 2009, 11:24 PM

nice history lesson there. looks like one PM or another broke their promises to the state until AB vajpayee came along.
anyways.. better late then never.

jstarra49

October 30th, 2009, 12:44 AM

It may mentioned here that the tunnel from Banihal to Qazigund on the Udhampur-Srinagar line is going be Indian Railways’ largest, and the second largest in Asia after the recently completed, 20-km Wushaoling tunnel in Gansu, northwest China.

There are many tunnels in Asia that are way longer than 11kms. I don't know where this idea has come from that an 11km long tunnel will be the second longest tunnel in Asia. I am assuming by "largest" one means "longest" since a single track tunnel with a service road isn't exactly a large tunnel. Just as a sampler....

Sei-ken which connects Honshu with Hokkaido is 53.85km and Iwate-ichinohe at 25.81km and Dai-shimizu at 22.22km are all railway tunnels that are longer than the Wushaoling at 21.05km. It turns out that there are another 14 or so railway tunnels in China, Japan, Taiwan and Asian Russia that are longer than 11km.

skganji

October 30th, 2009, 02:44 AM

nice history lesson there. looks like one PM or another broke their promises to the state until AB vajpayee came along.
anyways.. better late then never.

I agree with you on this. All of them had to break their promises because these promises were made without really looking into the practical aspects of the project and the challenges involved in completing the project. Atleast AB Vajpayee has some vision to make this project a national project.

Bombay2Calcutta

October 30th, 2009, 07:11 PM

Bombay2Calcutta,

Good work, That was a brief history of Jammu-Baramulla Rail link

Thanks for Sharing...

Thanks U r welcome..

worlds8

October 30th, 2009, 07:16 PM

Thanks U r welcome..

absolutely :banana:

http://s02.flagcounter.com/count/XOH/bg=F4F4F4/txt=F4F4F4/border=F4F4F4/columns=1/maxflags=1/viewers=3/labels=1/ (http://s02.flagcounter.com/more/XOH/)

skganji

November 12th, 2009, 07:10 PM

From Tribune India.

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/9713/banihalrailtunnel80.jpg

Using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (ATN) of tunnelling, the Northern Railways have saved two years in completing the longest railway tunnel that will connect Kashmir to rest of the country as the Tunnel-80 is expected to be completed next year.

The Railways have completed more than two-third of the drilling on the tunnel which will be running around 440 metres below the Jawahar Tunnel, which is the only surface link between Kashmir and rest of the country at the moment.

Celebrating the "Day Break," an event which marked the completion of the tunnelling of T-80 from the two opposite faces yesterday, Member Engineering Railway Board Rakesh Chopra said the remaining drilling work will be completed by 2010.

"With completion of the work from South face, we now are left with about 3.5 kilometre patch for tunnelling and the drilling work will be completed by 2010," he told visiting correspondents.

The challenging project of connecting the Kashmir valley to rest of the country through the undulating Pir Panjal range by rail link is bound to set new records with the building of the country's longest transport tunnel and the proposed construction of the world's highest railway structure, which will be five times the height of Qutub Minar.

To facilitate speedy completion of work at the T-80 tunnel, the longest in the country, the New Austrian Method (NTM) was adopted for its construction by the Northern Railway for the first time in the history of Indian Railways and about 70 per cent of the work has already been accomplished.

The T-80 tunnel, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 647 crore, will also create other records with the highest overburden (length of mountain mass over the tunnel) and the deepest drill holes.

"T-80 has the highest overburden of 1100 metres and also the deepest drill holes for geotechnical investigations which are up to 640 metres deep," said Chief Administrative Officer Northern Railways RK Gupta while giving details of the tunnel.

Calling the setting up of a railway link to the valley through the Pir Panjal range "the greatest engineering challenge," he said the highest railway structure of the world will also be constructed.

He also said the Kashmir line that will connect the rail head at Jammu will have "36 major and 122 minor bridges."

Stating that the Katra-Quazigund is the most difficult stretch of the project, Gupta said "construction activities are in progress simultaneously on Udhampur-Katra (Leg 1), Katra-Quazigund (Leg 2) and Quazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla (Leg 3) sections."

He said the Railways will provide a job each to families, who had to part with more than 75 per cent of their land, for the construction of rail links.

Gupta also said the railway line will improve transport facilities around the adjoining areas through which the track will pass through.

"The railway line will strengthen the available transport facilities and the construction of about 110 kilometre of approach roads have connected several villages which were recently connected by foot-trails," Gupta said, adding "bus services have also started to far-flung villages."

Answering questions of the reporters, Chopra ruled out the chances of any realignment of certain railway tracks in the State and said he had so far received no complaints from the Geological Department of any environmental

zenith_suv

January 3rd, 2010, 10:09 PM

http://img697.imageshack.us/img697/3382/kashmir.jpg

bharatiya

January 3rd, 2010, 10:21 PM

^^ What's going on in terms of military tension in Kashmir? Is it all over or only in border areas?

qwertyasd

January 3rd, 2010, 11:16 PM

^^ What's going on in terms of military tension in Kashmir? Is it all over or only in border areas?

Usually on highways, railways, there is a militaryman every 500 metres. They should replace it with policemen, IMO.

zenith_suv

January 4th, 2010, 06:34 AM

Usually on highways, railways, there is a militaryman every 500 metres. They should replace it with policemen, IMO.

they're doing that already , the guards in the pic. are CRPF and these guys commonly guard infrastructure in the valley , soldiers will slowly be found only in border areas.

bharatiya

January 4th, 2010, 05:56 PM

I'm planning on visiting Kashmir soon, but people keep telling me it isn't safe.:bash:

pbuddy

January 4th, 2010, 08:01 PM

^^ it's the safest it has ever been since 1990.

besides, do you really think rest of india is much safer?

sidney_jec

January 4th, 2010, 08:13 PM

:lol:
right..
don't worry..
just don't take phone calls and watch news when you are there..

Indtrans

February 2nd, 2010, 05:33 AM

Hope that after completion of this project more tourists will visit to Kashmir. This will help to get more employment opportunities there.

avikid

February 2nd, 2010, 05:54 AM

Jammu: Thronged by over 75 lakh devotees every year for their onward journey to the holy cave shrine of Vaishno Devi, Katra, the base camp for the pilgrimage, will be brought on the railway map by 2012.

The town will be connected by train by 2012 as most of the work on Udhampur-Katra track has been completed, Railway Board Chairman S S Khurana said on Sunday.

Katra will have the most modern railway station in the country with a number of facilities for the passengers, he said.

Over 75 lakh pilgrims including VIPs, politicians, film stars, business tycoons and NRIs visit the town annually for pilgrimage to the hill-top shrine.

Khurana said Kashmir will be connected with rest of the country by train by 2017 as the work is going on in full swing on Qaqzigund-Banihal-Katra line.

Khurana, accompanied by top railway officials, visited the Udhampur Railway Station and inaugurated two retiring and one waiting halls to fulfil the long-pending demand of the passengers.

Zee News- Jan 31,2010

truckin

February 2nd, 2010, 06:37 PM

Wow!! It will take them 2 years even when "most of the work has been completed".

skganji

February 2nd, 2010, 09:54 PM

Wow!! It will take them 2 years even when "most of the work has been completed".

The reporters are clueless themselves and put the readers into confusion. There is no information on why there is a delay of 2 years to open the line when the work is completed. Also, it is not clear why the entire line will be finished in 2017 when the Banihal rail tunnel is going to be completed by 2011. Looks like the Railway board hasn't find a solution to the chenab bridge alignment.

Bombay2Calcutta

February 4th, 2010, 10:12 PM

Jammu, Jan 29 (IANS) The railways would explore the possibility of taking a rail link to the strategic border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, running parallel to the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan, a senior official said Friday.
According to a government statement, Railway Board chairman S.S. Khurana extended this assurance in a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

Khurana assured the chief minister that the railways would look into the possibility of extending the state’s first railway to Kupwara district in the valley and the twin border districts of Rajouri and Poonch in Jammu region.

The Indian Railways is currently engaged in the tremendous task of taking the rail link to the Kashmir Valley, piercing the Himalayan range of Pir Panjal at a height of 9,000 feet above sea level.

Abdullah highlighted the need for rail link in these districts for speedy economic development of the region.

“Railway facilities in hilly backward areas of the state is an imperative to open up these areas for all-round development and generation of wide ranging economic activities,” he said.

Abdullah also underlined the need for speeding up the work on Katra-Qazigund railway project to link the Jammu region with the Kashmir Valley. The project has been going on since 1997.

avikid

February 21st, 2010, 09:04 PM

Work resumes on world’s highest rail bridge over Chenab

To Be Completed In 2015

FIRDOUS TAK

Jammu, Feb 21: After remaining suspended for more than a year due to geological obstacles and engineering challenges, the work on the world’s highest rail bridge being constructed on Chenab river in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir has restarted.
Coming up at Kauri, it will be 359 metre (1,180 feet) above the riverbed and will be higher than the Millau bridge (342 metre) in France.
Part of Katra-Qazigund (leg two) section of Jammu-Varmul rail link, the work on the 1.3 km long bridge was suspended following geological and technical difficulties on the stretch. Under construction since March 2007, the bridge was scheduled to be completed by December 2010 but due to the suspension of the work and geological roadblocks, it is expected to be completed now by 2015.
Sources in the Konkan Railway Construction Company, which is executing the work between Salal and Laol stations, told Greater Kashmir that after a minor change in the previous alignment, the work on the bridge had restarted.
“The previous alignment has been kept intact with minor changes,” sources said adding, “However, we believe that the there would be cost escalation and delay in the completion of project”.
Though the actual physical work would reportedly take another six months to start, sources said, the ‘basic engineering work’ and ‘mobilization of machinery’ had already begun. The Konkan Railway is executing the work through Afcons (India) and Koters (Finland), which is still holding deliberations with the Union Railway Ministry over cost escalation.
Designed by Leonard and Partners (Germany) and Koters (Finland), the railway bridge would be 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower of Paris. The initial construction cost of the bridge was Rs 512 crore but it is likely to go up.
“It would be simple span bridges and Cor-Ten Steel is planned to be used to provide an environment friendly specification eliminating the need to paint the bridge,” sources said.

Source (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=22_2_2010&ItemID=54&cat=1)

Bombay2Calcutta

February 22nd, 2010, 10:27 PM

Source (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/today/full_story.asp?Date=22_2_2010&ItemID=54&cat=1)

Wounderful !!

skganji

February 23rd, 2010, 03:27 AM

Wounderful !!

Let the actual work start and let us see how it will come up. It will be the biggest challenge to connect Kashmir with rest of India.

Ashis Mitra

February 26th, 2010, 09:14 PM

When the direct express train service will start from Kolkata/Delhi/Mumbai/Chennai/Bengaluru to Shrinagar?

Kewl Batty

February 26th, 2010, 09:50 PM

^^ :D It'll be around 2017-18.. My guess. Since Katra - Qazigund section's deadline is 2017. But won't be surprised if its postponed again. Its the most difficult section?

kronik

April 3rd, 2010, 08:50 AM

Our friendly neighborhood terrorists again demonstrating they are only fighting for themselves.....

Locals condemn militants sabotaging railway track in Jammu and Kashmir (http://news.oneindia.in/2010/04/02/localscondemn-militants-sabotaging-railway-track-in-jammu.html)

The blowing up of a section of railway track in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district by suspected militants on Friday has been strongly condemned by people in the Valley.

The improvised explosive device (IED) blast damaged three feet of the track on the Qazigund Baramulla route, about 40 kilometres from Srinagar, on Thursday night.

Cutting across one's own likes and dislikes, the locals termed the act as non-pardonable.

Javed Ahmad, a Srinagar resident, said that a major tragedy was averted as hundreds of passengers, including women and children, would have been killed had a train been running at the time of blast.

The railway link to the Kashmir valley was a long pending dream come true for the locals.

Citing this aspect, people contended that the attack on the railway track is an attack on the development and economy of the region.

"Jammu and Kashmir was the only state, especially the Kashmir Valley, which was not connected by railways. Fortunately, with the help of the Union Government it has been connected. It is good for people. Such blast needs to be condemned in strongest terms," said Niyaz Elahi, another local.

Now I expect some absurd claim to arise about how RAW did it to discredit the terrorists.

Marathaman

April 3rd, 2010, 08:51 AM

Terrible. But these incidents of railway tracks being blown up are becoming common all over the country. There's no solution it seems, guarding thousands of kms of tracks is next to impossible.

muralibmenon

May 12th, 2010, 03:35 PM

Dear Folks,

Read the entire thread with all its contents and a very Challenging & interesting project. Can somebody share the latest news on the same pls.

Murali

Euromast

May 13th, 2010, 10:03 PM

Today there is programme about this rail line on discovery science . will record tat
Building the biggest

engineer.akash

May 13th, 2010, 10:24 PM

Today there is programme about this rail line on discovery science . will record tat
Building the biggest

:okay:

Illusionist

May 14th, 2010, 04:04 AM

Today there is programme about this rail line on discovery science . will record tat
Building the biggest

what channel

Euromast

May 14th, 2010, 07:54 AM

Discovery Science. But they did not telecast Indian railways, it was LOndon Glasgow line.

KLPD

sidney_jec

May 14th, 2010, 09:11 AM

:lol: at KLPD

Abhishek901

May 16th, 2010, 08:49 PM

:lol:

anujkb

May 18th, 2010, 07:00 AM

*LATEST STATUS OF JAMMU-BARAMULLA LINE:*
All this data has been obtained from a junior engineer working at the section. I cannot reveal his data he said he will lose his job if he discloses the project.

Doubling from Chakki bank to Jammu is underway. Most major bridges done. A lot of doubling has been done, seems the work will get completed in 1 year.

Udhampur-katra:
T1 after Udhampur is being remade. Original alignment is cancelled. New tunnel boring 1 km out of 2.5 km done.

For remaining route, only tracklaying work remains. Some approach roads and station buildings at Katra and chakrawah station are underway. Katra will be the terminus for long distance trains (and all trains from jammu will be extended here).

Katra to Qazigund:
5 tunnels upto chenab bridge work going on in full swing. but hardly 5 km of tunneling is complete.
* 7 approach piers out of 9 for Anjikhad bridge approach viaduct done. the junior engineer is working at this section.
* all approach viaduct of chenab bridge done. Now the soil compaction and stability work at the base and launching of piles and fenders are going on at base of arch.
* Arch construction of chenab bridge not yet started, however they wish to wait till monsoon gets over.
* still machinery of Ritwik constr co. building T5 i.e. the one before chenab bridge has not been fully put to use.
* Salal-sangaldhan section of 30 tunnels has made few progress with over 15 km tunneling done.
* Sangaldhan tunnel of 7.1 km now only 200 metres boring done.
* piers of bridge on sanguldhan river (400 m) done.
* few works for tunneling in sangaldhan to laole stretch going. Only land clearance and level rail embankments work going. tunneling of some 20 km and 11 tunnels not yet started.
* banihal viaduct DONE.
*So has pit lines at Banihal station.
* Charil tracklaying work has started.
* Pir panjal tunnel 9.8 km done. Only 1 more to go. will be completed by december.
Tracklaying work in progress from Qazigund to Pir punjal tunnel base.
* QZD-BRML is already inaugurated. A fresh WDG4 has been airlifted and put to place at Srinagar stn.

SBC-YPR

May 18th, 2010, 12:48 PM

Arun Joshi, Hindustan Times

Sangaldan, May 15, 2010

It’s a happening place. Amidst the stillness of scenic hills with dense forests, this bowl–shaped cluster of villages in Pir Panchal range of Himalayas, is on the move, the machines and materials are climbing narrow hilly road to complete the rail track work as early as possible.

The Central government’s initiative to connect the Kashmir valley with rail has woken up the people here to a new reality – there is a life, beautiful and worth living – much different from the hit and run with guns with security forces out to hunt them out.

Train will pass through the beautiful hills, at times overlooking the mighty river of Chenab. Despite delays and geological challenges , as the track and tunnels pass through the most fragile Himalayan ecology, people are waiting impatiently the day when the train will chug along the hills.

“We are the natural children of development,” Jameel Ahmad, 21, who drives a tipper of one of the contractors , tells this reporter. “The track work has given me a job ( of a driver) and I earn handsome ( Rs 6,000 per month)."

Smile broadens on his face, when asked when would he get married. “Soon. Well, there is a life ahead.”.

He would not have thought so about six years ago, when guns would boom in the area. There was a scare all over. The people used to cocoon themselves in their homes much before the sun set and not venture out before sun rise.

There used to be army and the militants would be up in the mountains. They would descend onto villages and there were clashes , killings and bloodshed. “Those were really scary days,” Omakar Singh in his mid-thirties, teaching at a private school of 150 children.

“God bless Railways who have started the work here. The youth are running after work, not looking for the government jobs, because those are for the moneyed and influential people,” Onmkar Singh said.

The railway track work resumed in October last year, after the railways cleared the obstacles of re-alignment of Katra-Qazigund track. The work had started in 2003 from Katra end as also from the Kashmir Valley side, but , the alignment problems which surfaced in early 2008, the work was stopped in July 2008.

Such is the pace of the work, that Showkat Ahmad has come all the way from Srinagar , and started working as a waiter with a local Dhaba , where Kashmiri food is served. There are many others like him. “ By 2 p.m., he has nothing to sell, because all items have been consumed.”

The change is also visible in the lifestyles of the people. They travel in Sumos, not buses and many of them have replaced their old houses of mud and thatched roofs with cement and brick houses, dotted with dish antennas. “ We, too have constructed a new house. There is no fear. It is a sense of permanency and good life that has made us to look at the life this way,” Jameel said.

“ There is a transformation of both landscape and mindset,” Mubbasir Latifi, SSP Ramban, sums up the make over of the hills because of the rail coming to hills. And the way JCB machines, bulldozers and excavators are working , the hills are proving their nature of life providers.

Source (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Railways-change-face-of-J-amp-K-hills/Article1-543989.aspx)

anidel

May 18th, 2010, 01:54 PM

anujkb

May 18th, 2010, 05:12 PM

You can see the KRCL website here too: Many latest photographs are made.

http://www.konkanrailway.com/website/tender/SAMPLE1STAGEND.pdf

http://www.konkanrailway.com/website/tender/SAMPLE3ORDER171209.pdf

sanjusky

May 18th, 2010, 11:52 PM

sidney_jec

May 19th, 2010, 07:58 AM

SarafIndian

May 19th, 2010, 11:37 PM

smile1234

May 30th, 2010, 07:00 PM

Chenab Bridge design is almost similar(curve is steeper) to the bridge on Hoover Dam in US.... link 'http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_O'Callaghan_%E2%80%93_Pat_Tillman_Memorial_Bridge'

antriksh_sfo

May 31st, 2010, 04:17 PM

Dharti Ka Swarag.

Kashyap Muni ka aashram.
Jesus lived here after rebirth.
Charar-E-Sharif the most sacred.

India meets India by JUSBRL - A new step ahead towards prosperity & peace.

Marathaman

May 31st, 2010, 04:18 PM

http://2090.org/zoom/bbs/images/smilies/applause.gif

Although the "Jesus lived here" part is pretty doubtful. :lol: Though I'm willing to ignore the facts in favour of the sentiment.

anujkb

June 6th, 2010, 06:10 AM

estimated dates for completion

Feb 2011: Pir panjal tunnel
May 2011: Banihal-Qazigund stretch
Aug 2011: Chakkibank jammu doubling work
May 2013: udhampur-katra
Dec 2014: Anjikhad bridge
Dec 2015: chenab bridge
may 2016: Sangaldhan tunnel
May-june 2017: Entire line

sanjusky

June 6th, 2010, 11:32 AM

dr. yaser

June 6th, 2010, 05:38 PM

does that mean trains extended to katra will b later extended to srinagar or only few of them???????
and what is that wdg4 for ??? are they going to operate any heavy passenger train in valley??
well folks as the DEMU pasenger stops at qazigund (the last stop of kashmir valley towards delhi) the mighty pir panchal mountains stand challenging the train to cross over to banihal.....it seems as if every day it strikes the mountain n rebounds tryin n tryin again with the hope one day it wil penetrate........

zenith_suv

June 6th, 2010, 08:18 PM

nice update there anujkb and welcome to SSC Dr. Yaser. It's good to have someone from Srinagar on the forum, hope to see you around a lot more. Happy Posting !!

a_niranjan

June 7th, 2010, 04:33 AM

it seems as if every day it strikes the mountain n rebounds tryin n tryin again with the hope one day it wil penetrate........

very well put ... welcome doc.

Bombay2Calcutta

June 9th, 2010, 07:57 PM

kronik

June 10th, 2010, 01:30 PM

Tallest rail bridge over Chenab river clears safety test (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/6027106.cms)

NEW DELHI: Work has resumed on the construction of the world's tallest railway bridge over Chenab river in Jammu and Kashmir's Reasi district after its alignment was found safe by a team of IIT-Delhi.

The Chenab rail bridge, slated to be 35 metre taller than the 324 metre tall Eiffel Tower in Paris, is a crucial link in the 125 km Katra-Banihal rail link.

"The IIT-Delhi team headed by Prof KS Rao carried out the safety tests of the proposed 359 metre tall bridge. It found the bridge construction fulfils all safety parameters," a senior Railway Ministry official said.

The construction of the bridge was halted in July 2008 after concerns were raised over its safety and alignment. Railways had constituted a seven-member expert committee headed by former Chairman, Railway Board, M Ravindran to examine the issue.

Professors from IIT Mumbai, Panjab University and an Austrian consultant were part of the expert committee which examined the issue threadbare.

Though the expert committee found the proposed alignment of the 1315 metre-long Chenab bridge fully safe, it suggested more conformity tests to be carried out by an independent agency keeping in view the topography of the area.

"Tests were conducted for safety aspects of the high structure and the alignment by the IIT-D team. Results are very satisfactory," said the official.

While two designers from the US and Finland, part of a global designing consultancy firm WSP, are involved in designing the tallest rail bridge, a UK-based proof consultant is involved in re-checking the final design as fool-proof measure.

The construction of the Rs 550 crore bridge is expected to be completed by 2016.

six more years...:(

Bombay2Calcutta

June 14th, 2010, 07:52 PM

ET (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/Railways-brings-highest-tallest-bridge-to-Kashmir/articleshow/6039242.cms)

SRINAGAR: Upcoming railway line connecting Srinagar with the plains will have the world’s tallest as well as India’s highest railway bridge. An
expert team of the Railway Board has approved the alignment of the latter recently.

Safety norms forced the Railways to stop implementation of the major stretches of the Katra-Qazigund part of the prestigious project. Later, it was reviewed and alignments in certain stretches were amended.

Though the alignment was cleared, but permission to the two major bridges on river Chenab and Anji nullah remained withheld for safety reasons. Last week both the bridges were cleared after experts from IIT Delhi inspected the sites.

An IIT team recently visited Reasi district and found the ongoing construction on the 359 meters high bridge fulfilling all the safety norms. This bridge is taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Located at Kauri hamlet, around 40 kms from Reasi, it is being implemented by Afcons Infrastructure Limited. Once ready it will beat surpass the record of Millau Viaduct in France that is the highest cable stayed road bridge in the world.

Prof K S Rao led the team of experts, railway sources said. Its construction was stopped on July 12, 2008, forcing Railways to appoint a seven-member team to examine the safety concerns.

The team later visited Anji bridge that, once implemented, will be country’s tallest railway bridge and also the longest span railway bridge in India. It has cleared its construction as well. Its height from the bottom of the Anji gorge will be 180 meters with a span of 2200 meters.

Railways sources said after the clearance, they will be initiating talks with Gamon India for its implementation. It had earlier been allotted the work before its implementation was stopped on safety grounds.

Raising fingers on safety norms of the track, especially the two bridges, led to a series of measures. These included engaging foreign consultants and also involving DRDO for evolving a security blueprint for safety of the wonder – the Chenab bridge.

A national project, linking Kashmir with Jammu has been a long pending dream of the policy makers in Delhi. While Jammu is already linked with Udhampur, caving in of certain tunnels delayed the start of the Udhampur-Katra stretch that is otherwise ready.

The rest of the track has two sections, one connecting south Kashmir Qazigund with north Kashmir Baramulla which is functional for over a year now. Completion of the Qaigund-Katra section will complete the project but will take many more years and lot of money.

Sources in the railways said the major tunnel that is connecting Qazigund with Banihal is nearing completion. It is being implemented by the HCC.

zenith_suv

June 14th, 2010, 08:28 PM

Bridge over Chenab - Video (http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/124210/bridge-on-chenab-river-to-be-worlds-highest.html)

anujkb

June 15th, 2010, 07:30 AM

Hi, the video is nice.... I estimated date for completion of chenab bridge as Dec 2015. But Sangaldhan tunnel of 7.2 km (longer than current karbude tunnel of konkan railway) will take much longer time. Also, the bigg boss Pir Panjal will be ready within a year, so as Dr Yaser said, the trains wait and wait at Qazigund but one day they will go to Banihal thru the Pir panjal tunndel.

Dr, nice to find someone from Srinagar here. If its possible can you send us some snaps at work going near Qazigund? I remember NH1 crosses railway line 3 times from Qazigund to Anantnag. I havent seen Qazigund station and anything south of it thats pir panjal tunnel side.

Link Qazigund-banihal will get completed earlier than Udhampur-katra.

dr. yaser

June 15th, 2010, 04:35 PM

anujkb

June 15th, 2010, 06:10 PM

Yes sir, imagine a WDP-4 hauled LHB rajdhani of 12 coaches entering beautiful rice and kesar fields of bijbehara after coming out of tunndel and the mountains of khanderbal, pahalgam and the likes visible in background, river Vaith flowing nearby and rajdhani going over it over that girder bridge. And it honking horn loudly at merry children and kashmiri girls ready to work in fields and raising dust at the small stations (nowgam, panjgam avantipora and people selling shawls and kawa chai in Srinagar with stalls burgeoning with people from everywhere..... what a moment that will be! This comes with more worries because there are people on the other side keping an eye on this line....

sanjusky

June 15th, 2010, 10:24 PM

PlaneMad

June 16th, 2010, 10:54 AM

I m going to qazigund soon n i vl post some pics sooner but the tunnel site is about 5 kms frm qazigund rly stn n only IRCON people r allowed to take snaps of tunnel i guess....its so nice anuj that u knw NH1A crosses the track 3 times as v go frm anantnag to qazigund u r a good observer ......i invite u all to kashmir weather here is so cool n pleasant n it certainly completes the tag of 'paradise', it is ryt nw as cool as delhi gets during winters with so beautiful places to visit.. 'nature owns valley'!!!....also u can enjoy train ride from qazigund to srinagar both railway stations are very close to NH1A (QZD rly station located on the left side of highway as it enters QZD town about 300m & SGR rly station also located left side of NH1A bypass srinagar about 200m as u come towards SGR respectively.) ....u knw my earnest desire is to see rajhdhani entering valley with a serious n ferocious mood giving the idle railway tracks LIFE they deserve......

i just got back from a beautiful time in srinagar, if only i'd known you were there. maybe next time :)

I really wanted to travel on the valley dmu's but didnt get enough time off to make a trip in them. saw the lines cross under a couple of bridges on nh1a. I could also notice the alignment on the opposite mountain facing the highway before banihal, the land seemed to be level although i didnt see any active work in progress except for a cement batching plant of hcc.

anujkb

June 16th, 2010, 04:36 PM

I really wanted to travel on the valley dmu's but didnt get enough time off to make a trip in them. saw the lines cross under a couple of bridges on nh1a. I could also notice the alignment on the opposite mountain facing the highway before banihal, the land seemed to be level although i didnt see any active work in progress except for a cement batching plant of hcc.

Yes, srinagar rly station (SINA) is very far away from the main city (east of dal lake) and place from where u board houseboats.... almost as far as 1 hr so no tourist visiting sina wud try going that far plus they fear its srinagar and anything can happen...... tourists have no idea of where is what and so they dont venture out. They can try morning train but that would take up their time till 11 o clock rather its better to spend time in dal lake in morning. Life is leisurely there and waking up to catch a train for a tourist is something unimaginable.

A tourist can now catch a train if he she halts near sina station, and wishes to visit gulmarg, can hop on to baramulla DMU; or if he wants to go to pahelgam side he can hop on to qazigund DMU and get down at ANT station and go to ganderbal junction to catch a bus to pahalgam

anujkb

June 16th, 2010, 05:05 PM

POSTULATED NEW TRAINS ON COMPLETION OF ENTIRE JUSBRL
All is my imaginations:

JAT=jammutawi, UHP=udhampur, KTAR=katra, QZD=qazigund, SINA=srinagar, BRML=baramulla.

JAT-BRML intercity (overnigth train fromJAT 11 pm, SINA 5 am, Baramulla 7 am. Return also same).
JAT-SINApassenger (JAT 6:15 am, SINA 2 pm, return SINA 3:15 pm, JAT 10:30pm.)

BDTS (bandra terminus, mumbai) SINA superfast: twice a week, srinagar expected time aorund evening 4 pm, so JAT will be morning say 10 am, BDTS departure timing will be 2 days before in midnight. in 1 week train will make 2 trips: sat night 11pm leave bandra, monday evng reach Srinagar rake maintenance, tue morning 7 am leave srinagar, reach bandra @ 9pm on wednesday, again leave bandra at 11:30 pm on wed.night.

KOAA (kolkata town)-SINA superfast: twice a week, KOAA dept at fri night 7pm, JAT reach sun morn 9am, and SINA by 5pm; return monday morning 9 am, JAT time 4pm,tue night 11pm reach KOAA.

PTK-SINA Janshatabdi: PTK=pathankot time 05:20, JAT 6:40, SINA 13:00, SINA leave 13:30, JAT 19:10, PTK 21:00.

JAT-ANT DMU: leave JAT 9am, reach ANT 14:30, leave ANT 15:00, reach JAT 20:30.

anujkb

June 16th, 2010, 05:20 PM

POSTULATED EXTENSIONS OF TRAINS:

First and foremost important is:

2426 JAMMU RAJDHANI made KASHMIR RAJDHANI extended to Srinagar, no changes in timing, Srinagar Arr 11:20, Srinagar Dept 13:45.

1077 Jhelum exp till Srinagar, timings change needed should depart 5 hrs earlier from PUNE station.

2207 Jammu GR made KATRA GR

2331 himgiri till Katra

2471 swaraj exp till katra ; so will HAPA-jammu, jamngr-jammu till katra.

5096 amarnath exp to anantnag

6317 Himsagar exp to baramulla. Upon this it will be truely HIMSAGAR- Baramulla to Kanniyakumari. what a route! It has to be made faster and stops of new delhi of 40 mins and delhi jn of 60 mins can be reduced both ways. plus 2-3 hr extra time is reqd. All himsagar slot trains (jammu-coimbtore, andaman, navyug, will be extended to baramulla in that case).

8601 Hatia-Jammu exp to katra.

9225 bhatinda jammu exp to katra

5651 LOHIT exp on baramulla on 1 side and dibrugarh on other.

anujkb

June 16th, 2010, 05:35 PM

In anycase, fastest run from Jammu-Srinagar cant be done in less than 5 hr 30 min, and onwards take 1 hr for baramulla. so 322 km can be done fastest 6 hr 30 min by superfasts and WDP4 hauled trains. so jammu-baramulla-jammu trip can be done fastest in 14 hrs (consider 1 hr rest at baramulla).

Consider benifits on comlpetion of line: Delhi 9pm, Srinagar next day 1 pm. Expect rajdhani to become 1 hr faster after jullunder-jammu doubling. The cost by rajdhani incl meals 3AC will be max to max 1550 Rs (consider inflated kilometres for Jammu-baramulla, like konkan railway) and journey time 17 hrs. Now by JKSRTC volvo ittakes 24 hrs and 2500 rs ticket and change at jammu. or by plane minimum will start from 2500 (no idea, guess). Another advantage is RAILWAY wont get closed in winter like road, because its developed technology and most of it is in tunnels. At the most it will have winter timetable for trains and they will reach srinagar 2-3 hrs late.

dr. yaser

June 16th, 2010, 08:49 PM

That was stupendous anuj....u knw for a moment i felt as if i m reading an official railway time table for extension of trains to valley thanx mate!! ..i wonder how jhelum express is going to behave when it meets its source river jhelum(vyeth)...the railway minister announced extension of track to kupwara during recent railway budget (the northernmost point of valley) it wil take about 6 to 7 yrs by d time whole usbrl project is completed joining India end to end from kupwara to kanyakumari and then i guess himsagar wud complete its mission..and also there were talks of joining pahalgam with the anantnag railway section but with no serious approach...banihal qazigund stretch is important coz during winters the jawahar road tunnel gets closed if snowfall is heavy n passengers get stranded betwn qazigund n banihal for days ......."so many hopes so many eyes so many hands so many brains and one project "!

Sunil dhiman

June 18th, 2010, 03:31 PM

sidney_jec

June 19th, 2010, 06:07 AM

^^Sunil welcome on board :cheers:
you can visit the NHAI website for the latest development.
you can check these threads out

for pics
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=298320

for latest developments
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=447508

anujkb

June 19th, 2010, 10:32 AM

Hello everybody!
I am really fascinated & feel very happy by the informations posted on this thread. Personally I am very much interested in this project because I lived in Srinagar for six long years in my childhood & have innate attachment to the development of Kashmir. Thank you everybody on this thread.
I would like to ask one question though unrelated to this thread, that along with this project there is a four lane Road project that connects Jammu to Srinagar.... I think it is a part of North-South Corridor that connects Srinagar to Kanyakumari. What's the Progress on that? Is there any link of a similar kind for that? If anybody has please mention it.

Hi,

AFAIK the 4 laning is only till Nagrota township north of Jammu. They wish to do it to Katra junction (the road which goes to katra) but work hasnt started. They mention that 4 laning is till Srinagar, but its impossible by any means to complete it within atleast 10 years. rather they will focus on strengthening and improvement of existing NH1. Srinagar devt authority is building new roads ina nd near srinagar for south its nowgam village upto which 4 lane will take place and i heard on north side itll be done till ganderbal.

dr. yaser

June 20th, 2010, 06:42 AM

anujkb

June 20th, 2010, 05:25 PM

The existing highway NHA1 is all set to get four lane under NHDP phase 2 , it will b 60kms shorter thn the existing one. They hav awarded tenders in jan-feb and divided it into small projects i.e srinagar to qazigund , qazigund to banihal that has a new 9 km road tunnel, banihal to ramban, chenani to nashri having 9 km long tunnel that bypasses patnitop i.e no hairpin incline n decline to patnitop saving around 20kms and final udhampur to jammu. Many new tunnels are planned and many faulty zones bypassed. The srinagar bypass is already a functional 4way so is jammu bypass. It wil take time work has not yet started.

Worth to see patnitop tunnel. It will save almost 40 km. From Udhampur to baglihar project (that famous bridge over Chenab river). But that's huge, I had come from katra to Srinagar during amarnath yatra time last year and they blocked vehicles like hell. At first i thought it was mismanagement but then came to know whatever was cooperation between SASB (Shri Amarnath Shrine Board) and JK police was best. The vehicles were halted at more than 6-7 points- that too crucial points: to start, Udhampur (junction of road with Katra), Patnitop (The very TOP point)- here vehicle was halted for 2 hrs; Lower Munda (10-15 mins) and in Nowgam. Its to discourage the public flow there. There in Amarnath the rush was very, very huge. the line itself was 6 hrs long in cold.

How will JK police control road when itll be totally 4 laned?

Forget the road,, what about the tourists, how will Baltal be able to accomodate this huge lot of public when railways would be done.

They cant build railway of formation level width 5.5 m in 10 yrs, how long will they take to build a 4 lane road, how huge will be the cutting, filling, and how the hell they have to make reclaimations, like places in udhampur have houses touching the NH1 (so also in the valley at plakces like bijbehara and awantipora).

making 4 lanes and even maintaining them is not a joke, back here the mumbai pune expressway witnesses landslides inspite of igneous rocks (basaltic) and in J-K mountains are young, and usually sedimentary made of dolomite which collapse even when charged with water.

Let us watch the railways getting complete, the roads I dont think would ever get 4 laned. Contracts would be short-terminated, re-awarded, and finally terminated and NHAI will decide not to 4 lane this strech.

To tell the other side, Infra projs in J-K are a money-minting machine. Thats why national projects like JUSBRL are getting delayed in the name of geology of mountains.

a_niranjan

June 20th, 2010, 06:20 PM

making 4 lanes and even maintaining them is not a joke, back here the mumbai pune expressway witnesses landslides inspite of igneous rocks (basaltic) and in J-K mountains are young, and usually sedimentary made of dolomite which collapse even when charged with water.

Let us watch the railways getting complete, the roads I dont think would ever get 4 laned. Contracts would be short-terminated, re-awarded, and finally terminated and NHAI will decide not to 4 lane this strech.

Aren't we missing the obvious? A 4-lane highway is basically two 2-lane highways in parallel. So, if one 2-lane road can be built, so can two ... that's all!

PlaneMad

June 21st, 2010, 09:08 AM

Aren't we missing the obvious? A 4-lane highway is basically two 2-lane highways in parallel. So, if one 2-lane road can be built, so can two ... that's all!

Obviously, you havent traveled on NH1A. Building another highway like that is by no means easy or cheap. add to that the security, maintenance and numerous road fatalities :nuts:

Personally, id rather they pump in enough money to construct the rail link and make sure its protected completely from landslides and insurgents.

a_niranjan

June 21st, 2010, 03:19 PM

Obviously, you havent traveled on NH1A.

in all likelihood, I traveled on it before you were born ... :lol:

the point was not about cost ... the claim was that it is technically too challenging.

anujkb

June 23rd, 2010, 08:15 AM

in all likelihood, I traveled on it before you were born ... :lol:

And its the same now also. No changes.

Its not simply copy-paste 2 lanes on other side.

mmk

July 27th, 2010, 09:18 AM

Hi, can anybody tell what is the latest status of udhampur-katra and kashmir railway

anujkb

July 27th, 2010, 10:26 AM

Hi, can anybody tell what is the latest status of udhampur-katra and kashmir railway

Please check the earlier posts. Udhampur katra, as told by me earlier, will take Jan 2013 to start. Ive given all the deadlines earlier... Some of them are postulated, some are true (as per contract awarding).

ashwa

July 27th, 2010, 12:09 PM

dr yaser do you live in srinagar?

Madras_Fan

July 31st, 2010, 09:59 PM

First Tunnel succeeds on Katra-Dharam Rail track

Jammu, July 30: The complex and ever changing Himalayan Geology and adverse natural conditions could not restrict the enthusiasm of AFCONS's 700 workers and 80 engineers as they celebrated the breakthrough of tunnel no. T43 on Katra-Dharam section of USBRL project on 29/7/10 at Sangaldan in Jammu Region. The length of tunnel is 1.65 kms. This is the first tunnel which has achieved breakthrough in this section. The memorable event is witnessed by Mr. R. K. Gupta-CAO Northern Railway. M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, a company of Shapoorji Pallonji Group is Executing agency and Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd is controlling the construction works in this section. The work of this tunnel started in 2006. The works in this section has been under suspension from July 2008 to Sep 2009 (14 months) due to change in alignment by railways. The tunnel has been excavated in poor strata with the use of advanced machineries for drilling and concrete spraying. The major portion of the tunnel is excavated in highly fractured claystone and sandstone having very less standup time. Some portion of the tunnel has experienced squeezing due to excessive pressure of overburden. Occurrence of water has further aggravated the conditions but could not defeat the efforts of the engineers and workers, who worked round the clock under these challenging conditions and achieved the breakthrough with accuracy. Presently tunneling works at 8 nos of tunnels is under progress in this section.

http://www.thenorthlines.com/newsdet.aspx?q=34790

shanware

August 1st, 2010, 04:56 AM

:cheers:

First Tunnel succeeds on Katra-Dharam Rail track

Jammu, July 30: The complex and ever changing Himalayan Geology and adverse natural conditions could not restrict the enthusiasm of AFCONS's 700 workers and 80 engineers as they celebrated the breakthrough of tunnel no. T43 on Katra-Dharam section of USBRL project on 29/7/10 at Sangaldan in Jammu Region. The length of tunnel is 1.65 kms. This is the first tunnel which has achieved breakthrough in this section. The memorable event is witnessed by Mr. R. K. Gupta-CAO Northern Railway. M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd, a company of Shapoorji Pallonji Group is Executing agency and Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd is controlling the construction works in this section. The work of this tunnel started in 2006. The works in this section has been under suspension from July 2008 to Sep 2009 (14 months) due to change in alignment by railways. The tunnel has been excavated in poor strata with the use of advanced machineries for drilling and concrete spraying. The major portion of the tunnel is excavated in highly fractured claystone and sandstone having very less standup time. Some portion of the tunnel has experienced squeezing due to excessive pressure of overburden. Occurrence of water has further aggravated the conditions but could not defeat the efforts of the engineers and workers, who worked round the clock under these challenging conditions and achieved the breakthrough with accuracy. Presently tunneling works at 8 nos of tunnels is under progress in this section.

http://www.thenorthlines.com/newsdet.aspx?q=34790

Bombay2Calcutta

August 6th, 2010, 09:53 PM

Rail service in Kashmir Valley suspended

New Delhi, Aug 4(PTI) Amid mounting unrest in Kashmir Valley, railways have suspended train movement on Quazigund-Baramulla section for the first time after rail service was introduced in the area two years back. The suspension will remain in vogue till normalcy is restored in the region, said a railway spokesperson. "Due to law and order situation and damage to railway tracks, signalling equipment and station building at and around Sopore station in the Valley by mobs, the train services have been suspended," he said, adding, the suspension came into effect from July 31. The spokesperson said the decision was taken after damage to rail tracks and signals between Sopore and Srinagar stations. He said Budgam station was also attacked by about 3000 protesters who also entered a nearby railway colony and threatened the railway staff. Hence, Railways had no option other than cancelling the train operation in the Valley. Meanwhile, majority of the railway staff have started moving out of the Valley fearing for their lives, thus putting a big question mark on smooth execution of the remaining portion of the Kashmir rail link project. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had flagged off the first train service in the Valley in October 2008.

anujkb

August 10th, 2010, 02:42 PM

J&K chief minister's incapabality makes situations worse than afghanistan here.

They want to make taliban rule in kashmir... So they had dug a tunnel faster than JUSBRL's thru the border in Poonch sector.... and transferred explosives... Pretty obviously the works of civil engineer Osama Bin Laden...

sidney_jec

August 10th, 2010, 06:27 PM

lol..what?

dr. yaser

August 11th, 2010, 10:00 AM

Our CM is a kid playing wid lives of people ..he made a mess of dis situation he is frustrated no body in valley wants him to rule dm he knows ths thng n stil holds chair as tyt as posble come what may n die hw many. As far as torching d sopore railway station is concerned the village where d railway stn is located witnessed death of two young kids by CRPF n JKP , it wz an emotional response to what cud hav been a no death issue had there been RAPID ACTION FORCE in place of CRPF n JKP that deals wid terrorists n a point to note is not a single rubber bullet was fired instead they used AK47 n odr weapons to disperse protesters wts dis??? nw who wil c a railway station r a police station wn public anger is at its peak..well its a sensitive issue but as humans no death can be justified..budgam railway yard was also under attack but RPF dispersed dm..train service is still under suspension ...so is our life under curfew frm past 2 weeks people hav lost faith in administration..well lets hope peace returns soon n project goes on ..God bless!!

Bombay2Calcutta

August 11th, 2010, 03:39 PM

pbuddy

August 11th, 2010, 03:42 PM

i really hope peace returns to the valley, and these killings come to a stop. The CRPF and Police's currnt method of dispersing crowds is highly ineffective and deadly. We need to adopt other non-lethal methods.

it is my desire to see peace and prosperity in the valley in my lifetime.

zenith_suv

August 11th, 2010, 09:56 PM

Lets not go OT people and try to stick to the railway part.

abarag08

August 13th, 2010, 09:29 AM

i hope the situation in the valley will not have a huge impact on the Rail Project.
Just hope that Kashmir Railway will be completed by 2015 as per schedule.
would love to travel to baramulla by rail from mumbai

ashwa

August 15th, 2010, 05:39 PM

let's hope that comes true...

downunder1

August 18th, 2010, 03:25 PM

hello everyone...its my 1st post and I have joined in today :)

What exactly is this "madness" of announcing your joining on every freakn thread?

MxC

September 11th, 2010, 05:17 PM

Guys, does anybody has a detailed (read large size) map showing the alignment of the line from Jammu to Baramulla?

World8115

October 9th, 2010, 09:14 AM

Source (http://www.kashmirobserver.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5879:jammu-sgr-rail-stretch-by-2017&catid=2:local-news&Itemid=3)
The work on the Railway line from Udhampur to Srinagar is in progress and its 95 percent of Udhampur to Katra stretch has been completed while as 30 percent of Katra-Qazigund stretch stands also completed.
This was stated by the Minster for Rural Development, Mr. Ali Mohammad Sagar in reply to a question of Vijay Bakaya in Legislative Council today.
He said the project is schedule to be completed in two phases including Udhampur-Katra stretch in March 2012 and Katra-Qazigund stretch in December 2017.

World8115

October 9th, 2010, 09:17 AM

Source (http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sinking-village-impacts-kashmir-train-project-57007?cp)
Sky is the ceiling for the 50 families of Jammu's Dharm village. A week ago, the earth under their feet began sinking as the entire hillock on which the village stands gave away - houses, orchards, fields, belongings, everything was gone. Villagers have been moved to tents some distance away.

"In winters we shall die. We have small children and the snowfall here is very heavy," said Atta Mohammad, villager.

"We are thinking of giving them pre-fabricated structures" said Pawan Kotwal, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu.

The land sinking has caused a huge panic in the population out here. But there is another worry. It's also the site of a railway tunnel connecting Kashmir Valley.

The area comes under the ambitious Kashmir Train Project that will connect Kashmir to the rest of the country.

In fact, the steepest part of the construction - 70 Kilometre connecting Qazigund to Katra via treacherous mountains - cuts through Dharm.

Now, the project has gone through a rethink.

"In the seismic statistics, Jammu-Kashmir is at Zone IV and Zone V. Zone V is the highest vulnerable zone. Earthquakes of great magnitude can take place here," said Professor G M Bhat, Geologist.

Keeping in mind the seismic sensitivity and the loose soil, the railways have realigned the track, now focusing more on bridges and underground tunnels.

World8115

October 21st, 2010, 08:59 PM

Source (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Oct/19/when-will-kashmir-rail-chug-again--47.asp)
Three months after suspension of train services in the valley in the wake of prevailing unrest, the state government and Northern Railways are yet to take a decision on resumption of the services, putting a question mark on the future of Rs 3200 crore Qazigund-Varmul rail project.
Service on the 119-kilometre track, that took eleven years for completion, is on halt since July 31. There seems to be no immediate hope of restart as the state government and Northern Railways are treading a cautious path over the issue. Besides routine meetings, officials of Northern Railways (NR) met civil administration and police officials umpteen times over past three months but failed to arrive at any concrete decision about restoring the services.
During August, the General Manager NR, Shailendra Kumar Budhalakoti, met Director General of Police Khuldeep Khoda and Chief Secretary S S Kapur to get their viewpoint, but they reportedly told him that their priority at the moment was law and order.
Minister of State for Railways, E. Ahmed, who was part of the All Party Delegation, also held parleys with Railway officials in Srinagar during the visit and they too convened their displeasure about ‘half-hearted’ response of the state.
The only step taken by state government so far was to seek help from locals, particularly in troubled areas, but this exercise too failed to boost their morale to chug off the train.
“The government constituted some teams comprising of Revenue officials to educate people living in villages near tracks about utility of railways for common masses to prevent damage to its properties. Both of us are yet to take a decision. We have kept our employees at stations,” said Chief Area Manager, Kashmir, Opinder Singh.
“We deputed our men for repairing damaged tracks, but there was stone pelting on them and this work also came to halt,” he added.
Out of the 500 employees, 138 non-locals, mostly technical, were sent on leave for a week by railway authorities after situation deteriorated in August. After reporting back, they are sitting idle at 15 railway stations in the valley.
If sources are to be believed, the worries of state government arise from manpower shortage for law and order duties if they give a green signal to railways.
Nearly 800 paramilitary CRPF men, 350 Railway Protection Force personnel and 1600 JK policemen are on job of protecting tracks and railway property, they said.
“Most of them were utilized for law and order duties over past four months,” sources said.
In absence of the rail services, people are facing immense hardships in Varmul, Islamabad, Budgam and Pulwama districts as 6000 commuters daily travelled by the rail.
“How long we have to wait for restart of services. It seems that rail will never ply again in Kashmir as they have failed to ply a single train even on calm days,” asked Nazir Ahmed, an employee from Varmul.
The railways suffered losses worth lakhs of rupees in the ongoing unrest on account of fare, as its daily turnover revolved around Rs 60,000.
Northern Railways started operations in the valley in 2008 on Qazigund-Mazhoma track and extended it to Varmul in 2009.

World8115

October 21st, 2010, 08:59 PM

Source (http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/uncertainty-looms-over-train-services-in-kashmir/428092.html)
Uncertainty looms large over the resumption of train services in the Kashmir valley which were suspended in July following several attacks by protesters. The train services in the valley have been halted for more than two months due to security concerns and railways and security officials maintain that they are uncertain about when the services will start chugging again. Trains connecting north Kashmir with south of the valley were stopped on July 31 after protesters burnt down the Sopore railway station and damaged the tracks at several places. Chief Area Managar of Northern railways, Upendar Singh, said the security clearance is the main issue. "We have no idea that when it will restart as security clearance remains the main issue," Singh said. Tracks have been damaged at many places, including on bridges, and some stations have also been damaged, he said. He said railways had suffered losses to the tune of Rs six crore due to the closure. Railway property worth lakhs of rupees was also damaged during the protests. The 116 km rail link, which was constructed at the cost of Rs 2,270 crore, connects north Kashmir's Baramulla district with south Kashmir's Qazigund. The Baramulla-Qazigund train passes through 15 railway stations, which include Qazigund, Sadura, Anantnag, Awantipora, Pampore, Kakapora, Budgam, Nowgam, Bijbehara, Mazgam, Panzgam, Sopore, Hamre Pattan and Baramulla. Most of the stations fall in the areas which have witnessed violent protests in the last five months. SSP Railways Showkat Ahmad Malik said the issue is being discussed at the senior level. "We cannot have a time frame about when it will restart but we are working on it," he said. Before the protests began in the Valley on June 11, the train connecting the Valley's two distant parts was teeming with passengers. Last year in June, the train service was stopped after people protesting over the death of two women at Shopian pelted stones at the train at Bagh-e-Mahtab on the outskirts of district Srinagar. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi had inaugurated the rail services in the Valley last year amid much fanfare.

World8115

October 21st, 2010, 09:01 PM

Source (http://www.tehelka.com/story_main47.asp?filename=Ws201010JAMMU_KASHMIR.asp)
Kashmir’s railway service started with great fanfare, flagged off by both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi in 2008. But since July 31, it has not operated a single train.

The Railway Ministry sees little hope of an early resumption because the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government is allegedly not cooperating in providing security for repairing tracks damaged in the recent unrest in the state.

The situation is particularly grim considering it took 11 years for Northern Railways to establish a rail link between Kashmir and the rest of India. In 2008, rail travel began on the Qazigund-Mazhoma route; the line was later extended up to Baramulla in 2009. So far, the Kashmir train has cost the taxpayer Rs 3,200 crore and now, even under suspension, the service is causing heavy losses to the Railways, ministry officials complain.

Top officials of Northern Railways, including General Manager Shailendra Kumar Budhalakoti, have met state Chief Secretary SS Kapur and Director General of Police Kuldeep Khoda several times over the past three months to end the impasse, but have been told that the government’s priority right now is to maintain law and order.

Railway officials have conveyed their displeasure about the J&K government’s “half-hearted” response to Minister of State for Railways E Ahamed, who was part of an all-party delegation that visited Srinagar last month. They told him that the railways had deputed personnel to repair the damaged tracks but work had come to a halt as there was stone pelting due to lack of police protection.

Railway Ministry officials point out that before the protests began in the Valley, the train was teeming with passengers. The 116 km rail link connects Baramulla district in the north with south Kashmir’s Qazigund. The Baramulla-Qazigund line has 15 railway stations: Qazigund, Sadura, Anantnag, Awantipora, Pampore, Kakapora, Budgam, Nowgam, Bijbehara, Mazgam, Panzgam, Sopore, Hamre, Pattan and Baramulla. Most of the stations are situated in areas that have witnessed violent protests in the last five months.

Even at the peak of the agitation, trains were running full, but the services had to be stopped because of damage to the tracks towards the end of July. After the situation deteriorated, the railway authorities sent 128 non-local technical staff (out of 500 employees) on a fortnight’s leave. They reported back to work in late August but since then they’ve been sitting idle.

The state government is yet to give a green signal to the railways to resume train services. The excuse: There’s not enough manpower to handle the law and order situation. Most of the security staff provided to the railways has been withdrawn and deputed elsewhere.

Earlier, the railways were provided 800 paramilitary personnel of the Central Police Reserve Force and 1,600 policemen of the J&K Police, but all they are left with now is 350 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel.

World8115

October 27th, 2010, 03:53 PM

Source (http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/work-on-udhampurkatra-link-likely-to-be-over-by-year-end/446695.html):cheers::cheers::cheers:
Work on Udhampur-Katra link of the rail project to Kashmir is likely to be completed by December, officials said today. All bridges, tracks, stations and tunnels have been completed on Udhampur-Katra Railway link and the project is expected to be completed by this year end, they said. Katra town in Reasi is the base camp for pilgrims to Vaishno Devi shrine where an estimated eight million devotees pay obeisance every year. With completion of work on this link, devotees will be able to travel directly to Katra. They said the longest transportation tunnel in the country, which will connect Qazigund town with Banihal on the either side of the Pir Panjal mountain range, is also expected to be completed by the year end. The 11-km tunnel is being constructed near the existing 2.6-km Jawahar tunnel, the gateway to Kashmir Valley. However, the work on the section between Qazigund and Banihal is expected to be completed by March 2012, they said. The challenging section of the railway project between Katra-Qazigund comprises 80 per cent length in tunnels and seven bridges. The section passes through two important rivers Anji and Chenab where mega bridges are under construction.

sanjusky

November 1st, 2010, 12:38 AM

Railways seek IAF help for building Kashmir rail line

For the first time, Railways are taking the help of Indian Air Force in construction of a important stretch between Katra and Qazigund in the prestigious Kashmir rail link project.

According to Northern Railway, work between Dugga and Sangaldan was stuck for more than a year as it was getting difficult to transport construction material for laying the tracks. Besides, in normal course, road construction will take three to four years.

To expedite the construction of road, which is key to building to the rail link, the help of IAF is being taken.

"We sought the help of Air Force in airlifting the construction materials like dippers, excavators to the construction site and the airlifting has already started," a senior Northern Railway official said.

The Katra-Qazigund section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project is one of the toughest stretches without any road access.

Railways have already constructed 260km of road network to built 130km of railway line.

The objective is to move the transportation material and workers to the construction site.

As it was getting too difficult for the Railways to carry out work between Reasi and Dugga, the construction work was stopped since July 2008.

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_railways-seek-iaf-help-for-building-kashmir-rail-line_1460399

anujkb

November 3rd, 2010, 01:05 PM

Source (http://ibnlive.in.com/generalnewsfeed/news/work-on-udhampurkatra-link-likely-to-be-over-by-year-end/446695.html):cheers::cheers::cheers:

It is surprising... AFAIK it wuld have been done NOT BEFORE Dec 2011.. how come its done a year earlier.... Even Pir Panjal tunnel only the blasting and tunneling work is to be done by Dec 2010, actual ripping, lining, finishing and tunnel opening to rail traffic will take more time,,, maybe by may next year...

And Katra-qzd link before 2014 is impossible..

World8115

November 3rd, 2010, 01:40 PM

It is surprising... AFAIK it wuld have been done NOT BEFORE Dec 2011.. how come its done a year earlier.... Even Pir Panjal tunnel only the blasting and tunneling work is to be done by Dec 2010, actual ripping, lining, finishing and tunnel opening to rail traffic will take more time,,, maybe by may next year...

And Katra-qzd link before 2014 is impossible..
The articles contradict each other. Even I don't think Udhampur - Katra will be over by year end.

Bombay2Calcutta

November 5th, 2010, 06:48 AM

Valley train to run again from Jan ’11
M Saleem Pandit | TNN (http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIKM/2010/11/05&PageLabel=10&EntityId=Ar01006&ViewMode=HTML&GZ=T)

Srinagar: The rail service in the Valley, suspended since August 3 after mobs caused extensive damage to the train as well as railway stations, will resume in January 2011, according to IGP deputed with the Northern Railways, Naveen Agarwal.
Surprisingly, the railway authorities haven’t yet estimated the financial loss to the railways as a result of the agitation. “We haven’t calculated the monetary loss even though we know the damage is huge,” said Opinder Singh, chief area manager, Northern Railways.
Unofficially, the loss is said to be at least 10 crore. IG Agarwal said protesters had destroyed the signal and tracks besides burning down the railway station at Sopore.

Mahesh Nanjunda

November 5th, 2010, 07:07 AM

^^ Who will finance the repairs? The Indian taxpayer as usual? If people destroy their own infrastructure why bother?

Bombay2Calcutta

November 5th, 2010, 07:12 AM

^^ Who will finance the repairs? The Indian taxpayer as usual? If people destroy their own infrastructure why bother?

^^ That's why those people are called terrorist

skganji

November 5th, 2010, 09:48 PM

^^ That's why those people are called terrorist

Don't understand why these terrorists are rewarded all the time . Afzal Garu, Zeelani, Mirwaiz etc. Didn't understand why GOI doesn't solve the kashmir problem forever by dividing kashmir valley into two parts for Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmir Pandits and give them the freedom for Kashmiri Muslims to do what they want to do.

skganji

November 5th, 2010, 10:14 PM

Images of the Banihal Tunnel Water proofing.

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/4453/ugc901.jpg

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/5431/ugc902.jpg

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3238/ugc903.jpg

Bombay2Calcutta

November 5th, 2010, 10:19 PM

^^ Great pics. Thanks for posting .. Good to see the progress. Read some where that the tunneling work is on the verge of completion and the work on the track laying will start soon

jpatokal

November 6th, 2010, 08:41 AM

Didn't understand why GOI doesn't solve the kashmir problem forever by dividing kashmir valley into two parts for Kashmiri Muslims and Kashmir Pandits and give them the freedom for Kashmiri Muslims to do what they want to do.
What "they" (= almost all Kashmiris these days, that is) want to do is kick out both India and Pakistan and set up an independent state. :cheers:

But keep on building the train line, India could use for a few more international links. Looks like China will beat you even to Nepal! :lol:

kronik

November 6th, 2010, 10:10 AM

Listen everybody, please don't bring politics into this. This issue is way bigger than our combined intellectual capacities, so lets leave it at that and let future take its course.

I am sure everybody has an opinion on this but there are more appropriate forums on the net for them!

Varun87

November 6th, 2010, 08:39 PM

What "they" (= almost all Kashmiris these days, that is) want to do is kick out both India and Pakistan and set up an independent state. :cheers:

But keep on building the train line, India could use for a few more international links. Looks like China will beat you even to Nepal! :lol:

they are allowed to dream... The idea of a independent state sounds even more absurd than acceding to porkiland. How do these kashmiri jihadi's figure to run their "independent" state in such a volatile region with no economy to speak of other than tourism? Seriously if it were up to me I would lineup these seperatists and put em on buses to terrorist republic where they can pander to their ummah all they like.
Best analogy for these separatists that i can think of is a bursting appendix.

sixsigma1978

November 7th, 2010, 04:23 AM

^^ oooh!! Chaibar topic - this can get out of hand pretty fast

flyinfishjoe

November 7th, 2010, 08:58 PM

This isn't going to go any direction except downhill. No need for politics in infrastructure-related thread. Anyways, good pictures skganji.

World8115

November 18th, 2010, 02:15 PM

Source (http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_over-six-time-escalation-in-kashmir-rail-link-project-cost_1468212)
The cost of the project to provide rail link to Kashmir Valley has escalated by over six times.

The 294-km-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail route was initially estimated to cost Rs2,500 crores as on March 2001.

However, according to the review report of the ministry of statistics and planning, the cost has been escalated to Rs16,000 crores as on August 31, 2010, which is 6.4 times of the original cost.

Considered to be the most challenging rail project being undertaken by the railways, the construction of the line is expected to be completed by 2017.

"This is the most difficult terrain involving more than 1,000 major and minor bridges and many tunnels. There are so many factors responsible for the delay and cost escalation," said a senior railway ministry official.

Train services were introduced in the Valley for the first time two years back after completion of the 119-km-long Qazigund-Baramulla section, which is part of the Kashmir rail link project.

However, the train service was suspended on the route due to law and order problem, the official said adding the service would resume on return of normalcy.

According to railways, the Udhampur-Katra section and Banihal-Qazigund section, which are part of the project are expected to be completed by March 2012.

World8115

November 20th, 2010, 05:18 AM

Source (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Railways-official-denies-migration-of-officials-from-Kashmir/Article1-628500.aspx)
A senior railways official today said its employees have not migrated from Kashmir but operations remained suspended due to unrest in the Valley resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 8.61 crore to the public sector behemoth in the state. "We deny that there was migration of railway officials from
the Kashmir Valley. But due to unrest the work remained suspended. As a result they had gone to their native places but have now resumed their duties", Northern Railways General Manager S K Budhalakoti told reporters here today.

Due to unrest in the Valley forcing shutdown of work, the Railways has suffered losses of Rs 8.61 crore, he said.

Referring to the prestigious Kashmir Rail Project, the GM said the work of Qazigund-Budgam railway track is going on in full swing and would be completed in a month from now.

Replying to the question on 25-Kms Udhampur-Katra rail track, he said "trains to Katra will also reach by March 2012".

To a question that 25 kms Katra-Udhampur Rail Line, on which work started in 2003 is yet to completed, he said shortcomings if any are being taken care of by the engineers.

Union Minister of State (MoS) Railways, KH Muniyappa during a press meet here on April 16, this year had said the Katra-Udhampur track would be completed by December 2012.

The Northern Railway is constructing a 25-km Udhampur-Katra railway track that will have a 3.5-km tunnel, nine major bridges and 29 minor bridges. The section will have the tallest bridge with 90 m pier height and two spans of 154 m each.

World8115

November 20th, 2010, 05:20 AM

Source (http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/2010/Nov/20/railway-restoration-work-begins-today-37.asp)
Northern Railways will start restoration work on damaged rail track in Kashmir Valley from Saturday. It has fixed one month’s deadline to complete the repair work.

“The restoration work on damaged track in Kashmir will start tomorrow and it will take one month to start train services in the Valley,” General Manager, Northern Railways, S K Budalakoti told reporters at Jammu Railway Station after detailed inspection of Udhampur-Chakki Bank railway line.
Indian Railways, that runs a train service from south Kashmir’s Islamabad (Anantnag) to Baramulla in the north, had suspended all its operations on August 3 after mobs damaged the track. About 150 railway employees had left the Valley following unrest and deteriorating security situation.
The General Manager said that the railway authorities had a meeting with the state administration and it was decided that the restoration would be started on November 20, besides all necessary security arrangements would be put in place to ensure the safety of workers.

He said the Railways suffered huge loss due to the damages and disruption in its services in Kashmir Valley.

Budalakoti said all railway employees have returned to Kashmir after putting up the family members at their respective residences. “The entire railway staff has reached Kashmir Valley,” he maintained.

The General Manager, who had a detailed inspection at the railway station, said the number of platforms at Jammu Railway Station are to be increased while the department has also planned to increase the length of railway yard.
“We have decided to increase the length of the railway yard so that the train having 24 coaches could easily reach at Jammu Railway Station,” he said, adding that emphasis is being laid on up-gradation of facilities at all stations between Udhampur-Chakki Bank railway line.

In reply to a question regarding commencement of train service between Jammu and Katra, the base camp of Vaishno Devi Shrine, Budalakoti said the work on rail line is going on and the train services on this track are likely to be started in December 2012. He said the department has already sanctioned electrification of the railway line between Chakki Bank and Udhampur to pave the way for start of high-speed trains and ultimately harnessing maximum benefit of the traffic potential.

The high-speed trains will start chugging to and from Jammu and other parts of the country within next 15 months as the Central Organization for Railway Electrification (CORE) under the Ministry of Railways has set a target of January 2012 to complete the electrification of Udhampur-Pathankot railway line.

gentem

November 20th, 2010, 08:41 AM

What "they" (= almost all Kashmiris these days, that is) want to do is kick out both India and Pakistan and set up an independent state. :cheers:

But keep on building the train line, India could use for a few more international links. Looks like China will beat you even to Nepal! :lol:

problem is only in kashmir valley and poonch, not in jammu or ladakh. so line upto katra will be ready by 2012 without interruptions..

However, according to the
review report of the ministry
of statistics and planning, the
cost has been escalated to
Rs16,000 crores as on August
31, 2010, which is 6.4 times of
the original cost.
Considered to be the most
challenging rail project being
undertaken by the railways,
the construction of the line is
expected to be completed by
2017.
@world8115 bold important lines of a report..

World8115

November 22nd, 2010, 06:09 PM

Source (http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/rail-service-in-kashmir-valley-likely-to-resume-in-a-week-67927?cp)
Suspended for nearly four months, rail service in Kashmir Valley is expected to resume within a week.

The rail service connecting south and north Kashmir was suspended on July 31 after violent protesters damaged rail tracks and ransacked several stations, forcing the non-Kashmiri staff to flee.

Authorities will begin repair work of the tracks and railway stations, damaged during recent unrest from tomorrow.

"Northern railway will start the repair of the damaged tracks and railway stations from tomorrow and it is expected that the service will resume within a week," official sources said.

The sources said a dry run of the train was conducted between Srinagar and Budgam railway stations today, which went off smoothly.

The Northern Railways had made several attempts earlier to carry out the repair work but were thwarted by miscreants who resorted to stone-pelting, the sources said.

They said a large number of paramilitary CRPF, Railway Protection Force and police personnel were deployed at the known trouble spots along the 120-km route from Qazigund in south Kashmir to Baramulla in north Kashmir.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had inaugurated the Valley's first rail service between Anantnag to Budgam district on October 11, 2008, much to the delight of the locals who were waiting for such a mode of transport for decades.

The second phase of the train between Budgam to Baramulla was flagged off by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on February 14, 2009, followed by the third phase between Anantnag to Qazigund by the Prime Minister on October 28.

The service was a big success among the people before the worsening of the law and order situation in the Valley on June 11 following the killing of a boy.

World8115

November 27th, 2010, 02:21 PM

Indian Railways in Rs 8.5 Cr loss due to disturbance in Kashmir Valley

Source (http://frontierindia.net/indian-railways-in-rs-8-5-cr-loss-due-to-disturbance-in-kashmir-valley)
Minister of State for Railways, E. Ahamed revealed in Rajya Sabha that Rs 8.5 Cr rupees have been lost in the Kashmir valley due to local disturbances from June 2010 onwards. Indian Government had provided the railway at huge costs to make the life in Kashmir valley easier. Around Rs. one core was lost due to damage of Railway track at 30 locations, three Railway bridges and three stations buildings between Qazigund and Budgam. Railway colonies at different stations were partially damaged. Rs. 65 lakh was lost due to damage of electrical assets at Sopore Railway Station..

Mechanical fittings of DEMU trains were damaged worth Rs 15000/-. Signalling systems took most damage. Rs. 2.9 crore damage was due todamage of Signalling and Telecom gears at 15 stations in Quzigund and Baramula section. Rs. four crore was lost due to damage of singalling equipment under construction (Installation) at Sopore Railway Station.

The phase-wise restoration work has been started and train operation would start on improvement in the law and order condition and completion of restoration work.

anujkb

December 3rd, 2010, 05:42 AM

skanji, where did u get those photos from???

Its good to see progress on waterproofing, too.

The 90 m high bridge on Katra-Udhampur stretch is huge Jhajjar khad bridge, its already completed 3 yrs ago in sept 2006, but the notorious T1 before UHP made problems. This bridge is India's tallest bridge (rail or road, both ways) completed but not operational. Itll be overtaken by Anjikhad and Chenab bridges.

2 tunnels of USBRL (sangaldhan tunnel-7.1 km) and this one-pir panjal- 10.96 km are longer than longest tunnel of IR-Karbude tunnel on konkan railway which is 6.1 km length.

This budget mamata has ordered survey of extending line to Kupwara from Baramulla about 30 kms. So India's northernmost dist will get connected to the mainland. The extension is not much, barely a few streams to cross and (some larger) farms land aquisition to be done. but it is (maybe) simpler than drilling the mountains.

Mamata has also ordered survey of JAT-Rajaori-poonch rail link- about maybe 200 kms long. I cant understand why not access kashmir valley thru this (simpler) link... rather than taking the banihal route.

anujkb

December 3rd, 2010, 06:10 AM

How about creating this ISOLATED rail link?

Likir-Upshi via Leh (101 kms). Railway stations would be-

Likir, basgo, Nimmu, magnetic hill, Phyang road, Spituk, Leh Cantt, Leh airport, Leh city, Choglamshahr, Sindhu Bank, Shey, Thicksey, Ranbirpora, Stakna road, Karu, Upshi. Also a small branch line upto shakti.

The above route will require 3 tunnels- each at magnetic hill (600m), shey (800 m) and ticksey (1.2 km). otherwise this line is a cakewalk. Itll be of immense use for the locals, who now rely upon the single road upto upshi.

Ive also proposed an Anantnag-Kargil rail link 0f 181 kms which ive presented it in international conference. that link would cover pahalgam, baltal, zojila, minmarg, dras,kargil. I know its tough, but its easily possible. 64 kms of tunneling. A huge tunnel of 12.4 km at kolahai glacier. and a tall bridge of 112 m at pahalgam over lidder river. Thats the main problem (for environmental clearance). else its all OK with doing this line too. however Kargil cant be by any means be connected to Leh by rail. So also Upshi with Manali connection is impossible.

gentem

December 3rd, 2010, 08:10 AM

anujkb

December 3rd, 2010, 01:47 PM

but that leh area has not much snow unlike valley, so normal bus transport is enough. they should start daily bus service between keylong and leh before rohtang tunnel built. it maybe lossmaking at start.

kargil-anantnag? u must be kidding. no returns for investment.

why no returns? Army battalions can be taken right upto kargil eevn in the winter. and delhi kargil will be a 17 hr affair. (now takes 2 full days). A hgh gradient will be required- 1 in 35 for as long as 90 kms upto zojila. itll also connect baltal, though quite away from the base camp, so of respite for amarnath pilgrims. If u have google earth, check a place called Braraiyen (though it doesnt exist in real)... appx itll pass from there... then take a sharp right turn to cut kolahai glacier and come out to amarnath trekkers route... from there another 4 km tunnel brings it right upto zojila. zojila onwards no tunnel required till drass.

anidel

December 3rd, 2010, 03:59 PM

but that leh area has not much snow unlike valley, so normal bus transport is enough. they should start daily bus service between keylong and leh before rohtang tunnel built. it maybe lossmaking at start.

kargil-anantnag? u must be kidding. no returns for investment.

We need more and more rail and road link with the kashmir or pakistanis and chinese will take it away.

Everything can't be measured on ROI we must look it as strategic asset.

china have build rail network in its occupied Tibet the same terrain as Leh.

We need more and more rail links and apart from defense point of view it will also generate employment as more and more people can move easily and in all weather. It will boost tourism too.

But our politicians have money for telecom scam, Cwg scams etc. but don't have money for development of infrastructure which will develop India and provide jobs and remove poverty.:bash:

gentem

December 3rd, 2010, 05:59 PM

We need more and more rail and road link with the kashmir or pakistanis and chinese will take it away.

Everything can't be measured on ROI we must look it as strategic asset.

china have build rail network in its occupied Tibet the same terrain as Leh.

We need more and more rail links and apart from defense point of view it will also generate employment as more and more people can move easily and in all weather. It will boost tourism too.

But our politicians have money for telecom scam, Cwg scams etc. but don't have money for development of infrastructure which will develop India and provide jobs and remove poverty.:bash:

for the purpose we are building rohtang tunnel :) kashmir valley is eco sensitive. no touching jhelum glacier. build manali-leh rail but that is after rohtang tunnel and full completion of manali-shimla line. ladakh population is a tenth of tibet, bus/trucks enough upto some population..

skganji

December 3rd, 2010, 07:43 PM

skanji, where did u get those photos from??? .

I got it from the websites of the companies that are involved in the construction of the Banihal Railway Tunnel Project. I will continue posting latest pictures if I find any soon.
On a lighter note, have you guys seen the recent IRT deadliest roads in India episode. Three truck drivers from Alaska are part of the History channel shows that cover the trips from Manali to Keylong through Rohtang Pass. I think Rohtang Tunnel will help immensely in improving the connectivity between Leh and Manali.

World8115

December 5th, 2010, 07:17 AM

Source (http://www.indianexpress.com/news/railways-complete-construction-of-crucial-tunnel-in-kashmir/720432/1)
Railways have successfully completed construction of a crucial tunnel between the Katra-Qazigund section of the prestigious Kashmir rail link project.

"The major breakthrough came yesterday with the completion of the tunnel, the second in the section at Sangaldam in Ramban district of the valley," said a Northern Railway spokesperson, adding that the work of the 1483-metre tunnel was completed in 28 months.

The Katra-Qazigund section involves 103 km of tunnels out of the total 129 km line. Almost 65 to 70 major and minor tunnels will be constructed on this section.

Earlier breakthrough of the first tunnel of 1671-metre length at Sangaldhan, was achieved on 29th July 2010.

Railways are considering the completion of the tunnel as a major achievement because it posed several engineering challenges.

"The tunnel passes through strata of poor geology, consisting of Muree formation. The excavation was done using drill and blast method. The tunnel excavation was done from two ends," the spokesperson said.

After the break through, the alignment of the tunnel has been found to be perfect - a big achievement in the tunneling work, he said.

The spokesperson said 103 km of tunneling is a big challenge in itself for railways as the stretch passes through complex and changing Himalayan geology and adverse natural conditions. The Chenab and the Anji bridges also fall on this section.

The Kashmir rail link project is divided into three parts. The 119-km-long Qazigund-Baramulla section was the first to be completed about two years back and train service have already been introduced.The Udhampur-Katra section is under construction.

anujkb

December 5th, 2010, 12:04 PM

I got it from the websites of the companies that are involved in the construction of the Banihal Railway Tunnel Project. I will continue posting latest pictures if I find any soon.
On a lighter note, have you guys seen the recent IRT deadliest roads in India episode. Three truck drivers from Alaska are part of the History channel shows that cover the trips from Manali to Keylong through Rohtang Pass. I think Rohtang Tunnel will help immensely in improving the connectivity between Leh and Manali.

Yes i saw it...... But its simply anti-India. The road has beauty, speed, everything. U cover any distances withink 45kmph avg speed. and they dint mention the Delhi-ambala expressway which is sparkling 6 lane roads. anyways anything anti-india works a superhit in USA. the drievrs there are quite pahadi, and they have experience. So such people shouldnt be encouraged to drive on such roads,,, simply put it was a publicity stunt.

jaadu

December 7th, 2010, 08:11 AM

Yes i saw it...... But its simply anti-India. The road has beauty, speed, everything. U cover any distances withink 45kmph avg speed. and they dint mention the Delhi-ambala expressway which is sparkling 6 lane roads. anyways anything anti-india works a superhit in USA. the drievrs there are quite pahadi, and they have experience. So such people shouldnt be encouraged to drive on such roads,,, simply put it was a publicity stunt.
+1000000

skganji

December 10th, 2010, 10:24 PM

North Drive, MTN, Potral

http://img255.imageshack.us/img255/415/img2790q.jpg

North Drive, MTN, Portal
http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/6608/img2792ee.jpg

South Drive, MTS,

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/3581/img2815oo.jpg

South Drive, MTS

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2728/img2891s.jpg

soccerhero

December 10th, 2010, 10:30 PM

^^Awesome!! Is this section going to be completed by 2017?

skganji

December 10th, 2010, 11:35 PM

^^Awesome!! Is this section going to be completed by 2017?

This is the target for all the projects to connect Katra and Qazigund by railway line. However, it is difficult to say if this can be achieved considering the uncertainities involved in this section.

soccerhero

December 11th, 2010, 12:06 AM

This is the target for all the projects to connect Katra and Qazigund by railway line. However, it is difficult to say if this can be achieved considering the uncertainities involved in this section.
Is the construction back on track again??? I know Banihal tunnel is done recently but some other sections were stopped in 2008 due to alignment issues and disputes with contractors. Are those sections back on track?

skganji

December 11th, 2010, 12:24 AM

Is the construction back on track again??? I know Banihal tunnel is done recently but some other sections were stopped in 2008 due to alignment issues and disputes with contractors. Are those sections back on track?

Except for few changes in the Alignment as per the latest reports the construction is back to normal on Chenab bridge and most of the sections. I think it may take some time to really see some progress on this bridge.

World8115

December 11th, 2010, 04:59 AM

^^ Thanks for the pics :cheers:

jpatokal

December 11th, 2010, 08:35 AM

Are they seriously digging the tunnels with hydraulic breakers instead of using a TBM!? No wonder it's going to take until 2017... :ohno:

World8115

December 11th, 2010, 02:20 PM

Source (http://nvonews.com/2010/12/09/kashmir-rail-link-project/)
The Indian Railways have done it again. It has completed the construction of the tunnel on the most challenging section of the Kashmir Rail link Project between Katra and Qazigund. The 1483 metre tunnel has come up at Sangaldhan near Ramban and has been completed in a record time of 28 months. Katra – Qazigund section is a stretch of 129 kilometres of rail track, out of which as much as 103 kilometres will be in the form of tunnels. Of these, about 70 are major tunnels.

The Railways achieved a similar breakthrough in July this year by constructing a 1671 metre tunnel in the same section.

The completion of the second tunnel is a major achievement for the railways in view of the stupendous engineering challenges it had posed. The success has also overcome the alignment problems which had cropped up earlier.
Carrying rail to Kashmir has been a dream project for the Central Government. It began with the construction of Jammu-Udhumpur line which was completed about 5years ago. It is now being extended to Katra, the base station for the popular Vaishno Devi yatra. Work on this section is in full swing. The tail end of the project, between Qazigund to Baramulla in the Kashmir valley, has since been completed and thrown open to public.

The entire line, called the Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Baramulla link, is being developed to provide an alternative and reliable transportation system to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. At present the valley is connected by only a road link. The present project is the only railway line in mountainous ranges in India that is being constructed in broad gauge. The project is quite challenging and a prestigious one, as the 345 kilometres route crosses major earthquake zones in a most inhospitable terrain. It will have about 30 stations en-route.

At that time, the proposal was to construct the track over the Pir Panjal range, touching a height of 11,000 feet, following the Mugul road. But none of the proposals came to fruition because of significant engineering challenges. It was only in 1994 that the Indian Railways took up the project in right earnest but lack of funds led to delay in its execution. Only after it was declared a National Project in 2001 by the Central Government, funds started becoming available for its execution. The line connects states winter capital Jammu to its summer capital Srinagar.

The first stretch of the project between Jammu and Udhumpur is 53 kilometres long and passes through picturesque sub-mountainous region. It has 158 bridges out of which 36 are major ones. It also has a tunnel length of 10 kilometres. This section was thrown open to the public in April 2005.
The second stretch connects Udhampur to Katra which involves construction of 25 kilometres track. It is scheduled to be completed next year. It too will have 10.9 kilometres of tunnels and 38 major and minor bridges. A 90m-bridge is the tallest bridge in this section, while the longest tunnel is 3.15 kilometres.
The third, the longest and most challenging section will connect Katra to Qazigund and is scheduled to be completed by 2016. A 1.3 kilometres bridge being constructed across the river Chenab in this section will be the world’s tallest railway bridge. It will be 359 metres above the river bed. This section will also have a tunnel of 10.95 kilometres length which is being constructed at Quazigund, the gateway to the Kashmir valley and will be the longest tunnel for the railway.

The fourth section connects Qazigund to Baramulla in the Kashmir Valley which was completed in October 2009 and is already serving the people of the valley. It has a length of 119 kilometres and includes 704 major and minor bridges. It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh by flagging off the first train in the valley and thus ushering in a new era for the people of the valley.

The project presents one of the greatest engineering challenges and is comparable with only the China-Tibet rail route, which passes through frozen ground and climbs to more than 5,000 metres above sea level. The toughest portion of the project is being managed by the Konkan Railway Corporation.
The completion of the project will open up the State’s economy and boost the development process which has suffered a great deal due to ongoing militancy. It will also provide both direct and indirect employment to the youth of the State.

In view of the security concerns, adequate arrangements have been made for its safety, using modern technology.

Despite the huge challenges, the project is slowly becoming a reality. Once completed it will indeed be an engineering marvel and harbinger of prosperity for Kashmir.

soccerhero

December 11th, 2010, 06:06 PM

Are they seriously digging the tunnels with hydraulic breakers instead of using a TBM!? No wonder it's going to take until 2017... :ohno:
I think it is very difficult to take those TBMs all the way up there. I have seen a vdo where they say they lost so much machinery because of land slides and accidents. In that vdo they said they had to first lay roads to get access to the construction sites.

anujkb

December 13th, 2010, 04:44 PM

Are they seriously digging the tunnels with hydraulic breakers instead of using a TBM!? No wonder it's going to take until 2017... :ohno:

Yes, sir!

TBMs impossible, rock strata is not uniform, taking it is like taking a WHITE ELEPHANT to site, it can be used at very few places, so drill jumbos are used....

the reason itll take 2017 and not 2013 :)

World8115

December 13th, 2010, 05:26 PM

^^ Then the world's longest tunnel Gothard Base Tunnel which passes under the Alps used as many as 4 TBMs. How was that possible?

anujkb

December 13th, 2010, 06:34 PM

^^ Then the world's longest tunnel Gothard Base Tunnel which passes under the Alps used as many as 4 TBMs. How was that possible?

It was possible because the rock was granite for whole or almost 95% length. except for some glacial rock formations at the middle..... pir panjal has hell of problems... i asked andre.czirr@gmail.com, he said there is water seepage, soft soil, tunnel fault line, sedimentary rocks, so cudnt use TBM

TBM is more suitable for drilling rocks thru western and eastern ghats..... the sahyadris.....

World8115

December 13th, 2010, 06:41 PM

^^ Thanks

anujkb

December 13th, 2010, 07:03 PM

^^

i think they wud achieve rendezvous soon, just waiting for the news..... barely 200 metres left.... maybe would take 2 more months.... after blasting, tunnel lining, ventilation drainage and lighting, then tracklaying will take up much time before extending rail from qazigund to banihal (15.5 km length).... thus ending the "DIVIDE WALL" of pir panjal tunnel, and achieving progress in valley

I think pir panjal tunnel can be made open to traffic (NH1) incase jawahar tunnel closes in winter next year. its 10 metres wide, so a 2 lane road besides the usual 5.5 m track alignment may fit .........

World8115

December 13th, 2010, 07:38 PM

^^ I think it is a rail-only tunnel and road would not be constructed. The old Jawahar tunnel will continue to play its role.

gentem

December 14th, 2010, 05:38 AM

Railways official denies migration of officials from Kashmir (http://www.hindustantimes.com/Railways-official-denies-migration-of-officials-from-Kashmir/Article1-628500.aspx)
Press Trust Of India
Jammu, November 19, 2010
First Published: 20:27 IST(19/11/2010)
Last Updated: 20:29 IST(19/11/2010)
Email print
A senior railways official today said its employees have not migrated from Kashmir but operations remained suspended due to unrest in the Valley resulting in losses to the tune of Rs 8.61 crore to the public sector behemoth in the state. "We deny that there was migration of railway officials from
the Kashmir Valley. But due to unrest the work remained suspended. As a result they had gone to their native places but have now resumed their duties", Northern Railways General Manager S K Budhalakoti told reporters here today.

Due to unrest in the Valley forcing shutdown of work, the Railways has suffered losses of Rs 8.61 crore, he said.

Referring to the prestigious Kashmir Rail Project, the GM said the work of Qazigund-Budgam railway track is going on in full swing and would be completed in a month from now.

Replying to the question on 25-Kms Udhampur-Katra rail track, he said "trains to Katra will also reach by March 2012".

To a question that 25 kms Katra-Udhampur Rail Line, on which work started in 2003 is yet to completed, he said shortcomings if any are being taken care of by the engineers.

Union Minister of State (MoS) Railways, KH Muniyappa during a press meet here on April 16, this year had said the Katra-Udhampur track would be completed by December 2012.

The Northern Railway is constructing a 25-km Udhampur-Katra railway track that will have a 3.5-km tunnel, nine major bridges and 29 minor bridges. The section will have the tallest bridge with 90 m pier height and two spans of 154 m each.

easier udhampur-katra link is much delayed. chenab bridge beyond katra doesnt seem to be in our lifetime.

anujkb

December 15th, 2010, 08:57 PM

easier udhampur-katra link is much delayed. chenab bridge beyond katra doesnt seem to be in our lifetime.

the uhp-ktar link was done way back in 2006 december, but a tunnel collapse made things worst. Everything is done, but for this tunnel. and it lies just 2 km ahead of udhampur. it was 3.1 km long, but it collapsed at 2 places. further, it passed thru a fault line (panjal thrust? murree thrust? not sure) . so it got sheared laterally and longitudinally. You can see the trip report and photos from irfca.org trip report named NORTH BY NORTHWEST....

now the tunnel is realigned.... and its being complete..... so it ll take another year or so..... for final touches and commisioning it will be may 2012 or max. 15 aug 2012.

World8115

December 16th, 2010, 04:32 AM

the uhp-ktar link was done way back in 2006 december, but a tunnel collapse made things worst. Everything is done, but for this tunnel. and it lies just 2 km ahead of udhampur. it was 3.1 km long, but it collapsed at 2 places. further, it passed thru a fault line (panjal thrust? murree thrust? not sure) . so it got sheared laterally and longitudinally. You can see the trip report and photos from irfca.org trip report named NORTH BY NORTHWEST....
North by Northwest :lol:, its a Hitchcock classic

now the tunnel is realigned.... and its being complete..... so it ll take another year or so..... for final touches and commisioning it will be may 2012 or max. 15 aug 2012.
I think the completion date is March 2012.

World8115

December 16th, 2010, 04:53 AM

Source (http://www.groundreport.com/Business/DGP-reviews-security-arrangments-of-Kashmir-rail-s_2/2932076)
Baramulla-Qazigund rail service resume its operation in Kashmir shortly.he track repair works have almost been completed and redeployment of security undertaken.

Decision to this effect was taken at a high level security review meeting of Jammu and Kashmir Railways, presided over by Director General of Police, Kuldeep Khoda at Railway headquarters here today. The meeting is second in series held by the DGP to review the functioning of various wings of Police Organization.

The meeting deliberated upon the overall security cover to the entire rail link of Katra-Qazigund-Budgam-Baramulla and it was told in the meeting that foolproof security cover has been provided to the track, installations and workforce. The resumption of Qazigund-Baramulla rail service would take place in two phases. In the first phase traffic on Qazigund-Budgam track would be restored whileas in the second phase on Budgam-Baramulla track.

It may be recalled that the rail service was suspended in July this year following incidents of violence and burning down of some railway installations. Since then repair works by concerned agencies were taken up on war footing.

Addressing the meeting, Khoda said Railways has added responsibilities to Jammu and Kashmir Police and asked the concerned officers to ensure not only the safety of passengers and installations but also ensure a smooth, hassle free service to the people so that they don’t have any problem. He assured the meeting that the Rail Wing would be strengthened to facilitate public in taking optional benefits from it.

The meeting was told that all logistic requirements like raising of barracks, tele-communication network, police stations/posts, land acquisition, night vigil etc. have been finalized. The meeting was also told that sufficient lady staff would also be posted at stations to facilitate female passengers.

Earlier, the Inspector General of Police, J&K Railways, Naveen Aggarawal gave a detailed resume of the activities of Railway Wing of the department and briefed the meeting about the future plans of Railways in the State.

Present in the meeting were Inspectors General of Police, Smt. D. R. Dolly, Sheikh Owais Ahmed, DIG, A. S. Bali, AIG (Personnel), N. D. Wani, AIG (CIV), Firdous Ahmad, SSP Railways, Kashmir, Showkat Ahmed Malik, SSP, Railways, Jammu, Vijay Kumar, Administrative Officer, PHQ, Bashir Ahmad Shah, Prpl. Pvt Secy to DGP, Mohammad Yousuf and other Police officers.

gentem

December 16th, 2010, 05:02 AM

^^ baramulla and sopore are troubling areas for security..

the uhp-ktar link was done way back in 2006 december, but a tunnel collapse made things worst. Everything is done, but for this tunnel. and it lies just 2 km ahead of udhampur. it was 3.1 km long, but it collapsed at 2 places. further, it passed thru a fault line (panjal thrust? murree thrust? not sure) . so it got sheared laterally and longitudinally. You can see the trip report and photos from irfca.org trip report named NORTH BY NORTHWEST....

now the tunnel is realigned.... and its being complete..... so it ll take another year or so..... for final touches and commisioning it will be may 2012 or max. 15 aug 2012.

if it is 2 km then they can start katra-udhampur 20km isolated stretch service, that is between Chakarwah and Katra, just like baramulla-srinagar-anantnag stretch.

World8115

December 16th, 2010, 05:14 AM

if it is 2 km then they can start katra-udhampur 20km isolated stretch service, that is between Chakarwah and Katra, just like baramulla-srinagar-anantnag stretch.
alternate route was decided and entire Udhampur-Katra will be comleted in 15-20 months. However, even if they would have decided to (long back)
run isolated 20 km stretch it would be a waste as it would be in b/w Jammu-Udhampur and Qazigund-Baramulla. Once Udhampur-Katra is done, we will see direct trains from Delhi-Katra :banana:

gentem

December 16th, 2010, 09:30 AM

^^ baramulla-anantnag helped kashmir a lot.. roads there covered by snow.

opening train at katra would have been a good publicity for the project. though not of much use. all u had to do is take 2 trains to katra in a truck.

World8115

December 16th, 2010, 09:48 AM

^^ Baramulla-Anantnag is a good 100 kms with rly. stations at Baramulla, Sopore, Hamre, Pattan, Mazhom, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipora, Panjgam, Bijbehara and Anantnag stations. Srinagar and Baramulla are the largest and 3rd largest cities of J&K. And Anantnag is also a big city. This is the ONLY railway line in the Kashmir Valley. It was bound to be succesful.

On the other hand, 20 km line for Katra would not be useful till it is connected to the Jammu-Udhampur line.

Bombay2Calcutta

December 22nd, 2010, 08:34 PM

Hindu (http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article970094.ece)
Train service to be restored tomorrow in J&K

Train service in the Kashmir Valley will be restored tomorrow after being suspended for nearly five months due to the agitation earlier this year, official sources said today.

The repair work along the Budgam-Srinagar-Qazigund track has been completed and the train is expected to chug again in the Valley tomorrow, they said.

The rail service connecting south and north Kashmir was suspended on July 31 after tracks were damaged in the summer protests and several railway stations were ransacked, forcing non-Kashmiri railway staff to flee.

Many attempts to repair the damaged rail infrastructure were hampered due to stone-pelting and protests in some areas including Bagh-e-Mehtab, Sopore and Pattan over the past couple of months, the sources said.

Some tracks and railway stations were damaged during a recent protest on November 23.

The sources said fool-proof security arrangements have been made with heavy deployment of railway guards, police and paramilitary CRPF to protect the railway track and stations in the Valley.

Repair work along Budgam-Baramulla track is also in progress and is expected to be completed soon, they said.

A dry run of a train was conducted between Srinagar and Budgam and Budgam and Qazigund railway stations several times in the past one month, which went off smoothly.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had inaugurated the Valley’s first rail service between Anantnag and Budgam district on October 11, 2008, much to the delight of the locals who had been awaiting such a mode of transport for decades.

The second phase of the train between Budgam to Baramulla was flagged off by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on February 14, 2009, followed by the third phase between Anantnag to Qazigund by the Prime Minister on October 28, 2009.

The service was a big hit among the people before the deterioration of the law and order situation in the Valley on June 11 following the killing of a boy.

skganji

December 23rd, 2010, 01:02 AM

PIR PANJAL TUNNEL (T-80)

1.0 The Pir Panjal Tunnel is a work of Pioneering nature being the longest transport tunnel in India and may become a benchmark for more ambitious and longer transport tunnels in future. The quantum of work involves one million cum of under ground excavation. 11 Km. long tunnel is completely straight in almost N-S direction. Maximum overburden is approx. 1100m. Tunnel is at 440m lower level than road tunnel and will be much less vulnerable to snow. The single track tube has been adopted with side road for repair /emergency rescue. The clear 3m wide passage exists in the cross-section all along and extends outside the portals. Rising grade of 1% from south to the high point at Km. 159.134 followed by a falling gradient of 0.5% towards north end (for better constructability). Tunnel will be provided with properly conceived Ventilation, fire fighting and monitoring systems.

2.0 M/s. Geo-Consult RITES (JV) has been appointed as Design and Supervision Consultants for this project.

3.0 During selection of construction technology Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) was not adopted because of following :-

o Heterogeneous geology soil near portals to Trap and quartzite in middle.

o Geology, with fault zones is also encountered.

o High squeezing anticipated in the middle zone with 1100m overburden. This will be accompanied by heavy water inflow (Karst) in the lime stone.

o High initial period is required for ordering design, manufacture and commissioning.

o Retrieval of TBM’s require a large cavern which delays the final lining activity.

o No bidder was prepared to mobilize two TBM’s.

o Required advance with one TBM is three times compared to NATM / drill-and-blast.

o Non-circular section can only be achieved by enlargement in case of TBM.

4.0 Adit & Shaft : 774m adit meets the main tunnel at 2750m and isolates soft-ground. The shaft with 12m dia & 55m depth isolates 600m north-end tunnel. These will also assist in the ventilation during construction and operation.

5.0 Features of NATM design and construction Process:

Geo-technical modeling includes rock classifications and impact of construction sequence. Actual design performed in the form of supports sheet during construction by designer at site. Instrumentation and monitoring is done to observe settlement and validation of the design. The steel ribs have been eliminated and lattice girders are used. These are lighter element and allow fore poling through them providing better safety and keeping the excavation profile to close tolerances. At any stage in the installed primary lining the actual stress level is known providing a real time tool to the designer to validate his design parameters. The geo-technical model showing presence of water, faults, different rock classes. The model enables identification of favored construction method-road header, drill blast. Permanent lining is being done concurrently while excavation is still on-going so that after the final break through, the tunnel is completed in 3 months. The finished cross section has been optimized in terms of area and shape. Assessment of tunnel stability during excavation is being done. Determination is done for additional support measures and to adjust the support and excavation sequences. Monitoring of deformation rate decides casting of inner lining. Optical targets, pressure cells strain meters, and measuring anchors are used.

6.0 Geological Features:

Rock units are mainly consisting of silicified limestone, andesite and basalt, quartizite and sandstone or limestone – shale intercalations, agglomerates shale and tuffs. Portal areas are situated in fluvioglacial sediments (soft ground). The general trend of mountain range and strike direction of bedding is NW –SE. The central areas of the Pir Panjal range show a distinct folding. Contacts between rock units are often faulted. Folding is common in central areas.

7.0 Salient Features of Pir Panjal Tunnel (T-80):

o Total length – 11km
o Adit – 774m, shaft: 55m depth, 12m dia.
o Maximum overburden – 1.10km.
o Tunnel Method : NATM (New Austrian Tunneling Method)
o Last estimate cost (2006) – 647 crores.
o Approx. 440m below existing Jawahar Road Tunnel (2.75km)
o Underground excavation : 10 lac cubic meter.
o Cross section Area : Excavation : 67 to 78 sqm, Finished Tunnel :48 sqm.
o Investigation Bore Holes depth upto 640m.
o 3m wide road in tunnel for maintenance emergency rescue and relief.
o High mid point and sloping in both directions for drainage
o Provision of system for ventilation, fire fighting and safety monitoring.
o Adit and shaft for parallel working, to be used for ventilation, maintenance and emergency relief during service.
o Extensive instrumentation for monitoring during tunneling.
o Consultant : M/s. Geoconsult-RITES (JV).

8.0 Many Firsts:

o The Longest Transport Tunnel In the Country (11km).
o Highest ‘Over-burden’ of 1100m.
o Deepest ‘Drill holes’ for Geotechnical Investigations 640m.
o First Large Scale use of ‘New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM)’ in India.
o First Use of ‘Road header’ for ‘Tunnel Excavation’ in Railway Tunneling.

Completion of T-80 : December, 2011

Source : http://kashmirdivision.nic.in/Railways/JK_railways_project_brief.htm