Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (JUSBRL) Project

[_Mihir13]

Originally Posted by anujkb

They should also start WORLDS TALLEST BUNGEE JUMPING PLATFORM from this bridge. that will attract EVEN MORE tourists

You stole it from the tip of my tongue.

Would be awesome "IF" they do it. But authorities are too scared to allow for an adventurous sport like this.

[World8115]

Originally Posted by MxC

Konkan Rail on fast-track in J&K, eyes Rs 400cr capex in FY13
(Source: ET)

Good to read news about progress on this stretch of the link. Does anybody have pics of this stretch?

Nice article

[jaadu]

Originally Posted by MxC

Good to read news about progress on this stretch of the link. Does anybody have pics of this stretch?

See the video by NDTV posted above .. its has a very good coverage of this part of the project !!

[IndiansUnite]

Piers for the viaduct which leads to the Chenab bridge-


- from The Hindu

[World8115]

Thanks for pic IU, posting the hindu article

Chenab rail bridge to be blast proof

The steel rail bridge coming up over the river Chenab, said to be the world's tallest and longest, will also be the safest in the country from the security point of view.

It is part of the Jammu-Baramulla rail line now under execution that would link Kashmir with the rest of the country. The critical project has opened up the pristine mountains to even the locals, spurring development and rehabilitation of those seeking to return to the mainstream in the Valley and the State in general.

The job of constructing the most challenging 70-km stretch between Katra and Dharam has been vested with the Konkan Railway Corporation Limited, while the Northern Railway is executing the portion connecting Udhampur and Katra. IRCON has the responsibility of laying the track from Dharam to Baramulla via Srinagar.

The focal feature of the 328-km all-weather route from Katra to Baramulla is the 1,315-metre-long rail bridge across the Chenab — an engineering marvel.

The rail link to Kashmir was launched in 2003 but work was suspended in 2008 for reviewing the alignments, when attention was focused on securing the bridge from possible attack. Despite the delay, the cost of constructing the bridge has been retained at Rs. 512 crore.

A Finnish consultant is now revising the design to make the bridge — which will be supported by a 467-metre steel arch structure — blast proof, KRCL executive director Rajesh Agarwal told a team of visiting journalists. Even if somebody throws an RDX bomb from a running train, the bridge being constructed with 25,000 tonnes of special steel of 63 mm thickness, will withstand the blast.

The concrete pillars too have been subjected to special treatment to bear the brunt of explosives. Given the bridge's crucial location, a ring of air safety network has been cast against any aerial attack. The bridge, with a lifespan of 120 years, will be the first in the country to get such a sophisticated ring of security.

Mobilisation of resources has been completed with about 8,000 tonnes of steel already stacked up at the work site and the erection of concrete piers. Real work will start once the Finnish company prepares the final design, which is expected in about three months. The project is expected to be completed by December 2017.

The pylon of cable cars is in place and, tragically, during the initial work, two personnel lost their lives due to a malfunction at the worksite.

The tall rail bridge — 359 metres from the river bed — has been designed to withstand wind speed of up to 260 km an hour, though the in-built system will automatically stop movement of trains as and when the wind velocity reaches 90 to 100 km an hour. Generally the wind blows at about 40 km per hour at these higher reaches.

To construct this 70-km stretch, which has 18 tunnels and 26 bridges, the KRCL has had to construct 166 km of new roads on these steep mountain slopes, much to the delight of the local people living in remote villages. “We had to otherwise trek our way to and fro,” said a gleeful Mushtaq Ahmed.

Now buses trundle along these roads, most of which are yet to be black-topped. It has also opened up new opportunities, with commercial activities too picking up along the routes, spurring economic development.

It has given more than 4,000 jobs to the locals, including those who had gone wayward. “The families of surrendered militants come to us pleading that their wards be given jobs,” said project director Rajesh Tripathi.

As a matter of fact, the project has been specifically aligned to touch the lives of the people. The government had struck down the initial blueprint that suggested a couple of tunnels of 35-50 km length and just about a couple of bridges. But that would have bypassed the local residents, who can now use the train service.

Both Mr. Tripathi and Mr. Agarwal expressed confidence of completing the bridge in 42 months, the latest by 2016.

[Madurai]

Originally Posted by IndiansUnite

Piers for the viaduct which leads to the Chenab bridge-


- from The Hindu

Good to see this picture. Any updates on the major tunnels in this route?

[anujkb]

Originally Posted by Madurai

Good to see this picture. Any updates on the major tunnels in this route?

nopes not much, work is progressing but nothing is complete.... tunnels are 2-3 kms in length. everyday some 10 m max. tunneling progress is being done. so it will take time........

[Obelixx]

Is Chenab bridge already completed or still under construction? Has someone pictures? How tall is its highest support structure?

[anidel]

Its under construction, plz refer the Kashmir railways thread for more info.

[Madurai]

Originally Posted by anujkb

nopes not much, work is progressing but nothing is complete.... tunnels are 2-3 kms in length. everyday some 10 m max. tunneling progress is being done. so it will take time........

Thanks. Do you know home much more distance to be covered for T-80?

[anujkb]

Originally Posted by Madurai

Thanks. Do you know home much more distance to be covered for T-80?

what??? T-80 is already complete since some 5-6 months. waterproofing ventilation and tracklaying is in progress (actually in final stages). T 79 and 77 are progressing in final stages so is banihal station building and approach roads so it will take time, maybe 4-5 more months before commisioner safety train runs on this track. then inaugurating will take 15-20 days after that (extending qazigund services to banihal.

For tracklaying within tunnel T80 from north portal, railways are using WDS shunter and two BOBYN wagons (maalgadi in short) to carry ballast from a quarry in awantipora (if i am correct).

[Madurai]

Thanks again. I wanted to ask how much more work is left out on T-80, but didn't realize it till now that I had a slip.

[SBC-YPR]

An interesting article that details the development brought about by the railway construction in the areas around T-80, while also describing the ecological side-effects of the same.

The ambitious Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, which is part of the 342-km-long Jammu - Baramulla railway line has changed the economic landscape on either sides of Jawahar Tunnel in southern Kashmir.

But the boom in economy can permanently alter the ecological landscape as well as the biodiversity of the area, Arifa Gani finds out.

Mohammad Isaac, 35, is a happy man these days. Sporting a bright yellow workers’ safety helmet, an orange-color jacket worn over a tattered, dust-clad, traditional kameez-pajama, and carrying a rugged look on his face, Isaac warily looks towards an engineer for directions near Pir Panchal Tunnel in south Kashmir’s Qazigund. There is not much to do, for now. He turns towards me.

“Not only will this tunnel bring the people closer who have been geographically divided by Pir Panchal Mountains, it has also brought employment opportunities for many of us. I used to go to far-off areas to search for employment. But for many months now, I have been working with on this project in my own area,” Isaac says, jubilantly.

Isaac’s story is not an exception in this south Kashmir’s Qazigund - Banihal belt which have become a focus of attention after the work on the ambitious Rs 3•9 billion Banihal-Qazigund rail project by the government of India started in 2003. The project which was awarded to the construction giant, Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), is gradually pushing the once-backward areas lying on either sides of Jawahar Tunnel towards the brink of modernization.

With the arrival of monstrous machinery which is being used to cut through the heart of Pir Panchal Mountains to make a tunnel for laying rail tracks, came new roads, jobs and business opportunities; a welcome change for the area which was never on the government’s radar for development.

However, the boom in construction is depriving these places of the scenic beauty of nature which will gradually alter the ecology. For example, considerable land has been lost to construction in Banihal area which earlier had lush green meadows and rich vegetation. This has dealt a huge blow to the biodiversity and landscape of the area.

Says Shabir Ahmad Khan, a resident of Nowgam area of Banihal, “Most of the people lost their agricultural land to the railway construction and people who had earlier 4-5 kanals of land are just left with few marlas. Loss of agricultural land is not the only cost paid by the people. The water that seeps from the tunnel enters directly into Nalah Bislari, which caters to the water needs of the people. This has resulted in the death of a variety of fish for which this stream was once famous. In fact, the water has turned grayish with huge deposits of chemicals at its base.”

“For the last 4-5 years, the toxic water has made its way into Nalah Bislari. It is only now that the harm done to the stream has grabbed attention of the construction agency. This project has, however, managed to bring in jobs for the locals who have been employed in the construction work alongside the skilled and unskilled labor force from outside the state,” says Nisar Ahmad, a driver, who works with HCC.

The construction boom also led to the displacement of people, mostly farmers, whose land was bought by the government to make way for the railway network. The dry and wet land owned by the residents was brought at ‘reasonable’ rates. However, the government has not offered help to the residents in buying new farmable land in the adjoining areas.

“Since the government was taking away our land, we believed that we would be paid sufficient compensation which will help us in purchasing farmable land in the nearby areas. But we had to add money from our pockets to purchase new land,” says Habibullah Khan, a resident of Banihal.

To excavate the tunnel in Pir Panchal Mountains, extensive blasts were carried out by the construction agency which left behind a lot of redundant material, mostly stones, which have been used in the construction of roads, resulting in their poor durability. The blasts have also caused deep cracks in the houses lying in the vicinity of the mountains with the locals alleging that the government provided them ‘meager compensation’ for carrying out repairs. Most of the houses have been damaged beyond repair and almost all of them need to be rebuilt. The locals also allege that the sound of the blasts has also affected the hearing capability of some people in the area.

The authorities have also installed a huge stone crusher in the Gund area of Banihal to treat the residue taken out from the mountains after the blasts. The machine is spread over almost two kanals of land and poses a great threat to the ecology of the area. “Our trees, crops, flowers, roof-tops, gardens, almost everything is covered by huge quantities of stone dust. The land which was used to grow corn and maize is now totally uncultivable. The land has become parched and grayish,” a local said.

The locals in the area along with the 2000 laborers working day and night on the project are also exposed to the health hazards. Abdul Gani Chandal, Sahab Begum and Noor-u-Din Shah, all local residents were detected with Tuberculosis in 2007 with Government Medical College, Srinagar and SKIMS confirming that they had inhaled excessive dust which led to the disease. The government has turned a blind eye to these cases.

Sangaldan Higher Secondary school in Banihal, which provides education to more than 400 students of the area, too bears the brunt of the dust that hangs in the air over Banihal. Says Bashir Ahmad Bhat, a local, “By the time the bell rings, the students and staff of the school are clad in dust. It can seriously affect their health. Besides, the vehicular traffic on the road adjacent to the school causes excessive noise pollution inside the classrooms.”

When the construction kicked off, the water supply lines were destroyed and some roads which were used extensively for carrying machinery and labor have also been rendered unfit for a smooth traffic passage. These roads haven’t been rebuilt so far and neither have the water supply lines been repaired, adding to the miseries of the people. Banihal-Lambar road link is one such stretch, which has been used extensively by the railway authorities with the IRCON headquarter also situated on it. This stretch is lying in shambles and un-macadamized.

When a satellite survey of the Banihal-Qazigund railway project was carried out, it didn’t match the ground survey and the work on the tunnel had to be cancelled on three occasions. The wrong alignment has also cost the Railway Board of India a good fortune with some reports suggesting that the construction work in this area will stretch due to delays which will mean more woes for the residents.

However, the project which is scheduled to be completed in December this year, has offered a lot of economic opportunities to the local population. Apart from jobs, new business establishments and shops have come up near the Banihal Station which is yet to be completed. Isaac, too, has opened a retail shop near the station. Some areas in Banihal which were so far disconnected from the main town have been provided road facility and new schools have been constructed in the area. The locals give credit to the rail project for making their dreams a reality. Almost 300 plus link roads have been laid since the work has started.

Qazigund-the gateway of Kashmir,

Qazigund is the gateway to Kashmir. Of late, it has also witnessed massive investment in developmental projects. Right now, it is home to the last stop of railway network in valley. And construction hasn’t been merciful here either. The Ghulab Bagh area where the HCC project is based right now is the most affected area.

Other areas too have been affected. For example, one of the roads which connects Doru, Verinag and other adjoining areas to the main town of Qazigund is in shambles. The large vehicles of the HCC plying on them throughout the day have created potholes, making them unfit for travelling, especially for small vehicles and the residents of the Ghulab Bagh.

At a distance of few kilometers from the NH1A, the HCC achieved breakthrough on October 14 last year when the 10•96 km Pir Panjal tunnel finally broke through the mountain. And on completion, it will be the longest railway tunnel in India, connecting the isolated Kashmir valley with the railway network at Udhampur.

The tunnel which is scheduled to be completed by December this year holds a lot of promises for the people of valley as the distance between Banihal and Qazigund would be traversed in just 6.6 minutes and the avalanche prone area which consumed numerous lives all these years would be bypassed by the travelers.

“Right now, more than 700 people are working on this project in Qazigund area, of which about 80% people are locals who have been employed to make an earning out of this developmental work,” said an official on the site.

Like Banihal, the development in Qazigund too has come at a cost. Mohammad Hussian, a resident of Ghulab Bagh says,” I had eight kanals of land. Every year we had bumper crop. But from past few years, the production has declined considerably because of water scarcity and the silt deposition in the fields which has turned crops yellow much before the harvesting season”.

The other visible negative impact of the tunnel building in the vicinity is the seepage of polluted water into the water bodies of the area making it unfit for irrigation or domestic usage. However, two sedimentation plants were started to prevent further pollution of water bodies.

”The agricultural land was devastated by pollution and the animals which consumed water from these water bodies needed vet care frequently” says Irshad Ahmad, a local. Though the residences are sparsely scattered in the area, the blasting carried out has also caused damage to the buildings.

Despite all these troubles, the ambitious Banihal-Qazigund tunnel project is likely to change the economic landscape of these areas. It will not only save hundreds of lives which are consumed by the avalanche prone NH1A highway yearly but will also provide employment to thousands of jobless people in these areas by providing an impetus to the trade sector.

Source

[SBC-YPR]

Originally Posted by anujkb

For tracklaying within tunnel T80 from north portal, railways are using WDS shunter and two BOBYN wagons (maalgadi in short) to carry ballast from a quarry in awantipora (if i am correct).

Isn't T-80 supposed to have ballastless track?

[dr. yaser]

Originally Posted by SBC-YPR

Isn't T-80 supposed to have ballastless track?

absolutely yes!!!!!! 11.0km of balastless track is being laid inside T80.
What anuj must be referring to should be the 5 km track from qazigund station to T80!!

[SBC-YPR]

So the project now has its own website (run by NR's construction organisation). They have this detailed map there which I'm hoping the mods can relocate to the first post of this thread.

[infra desperados]

JK CM Inspects Railway, NHW tunnels at Qazigund


Qazigund,Srinagar, September 10 (Scoop News)-Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah Monday highlighted the importance of Railway link between Jammu and Srinagar to provide a dependable, modern and all weather communication system for the people of the State. "This and 4-laning of National Highway (NHW) from Lakhanpur to Srinagar are the prestigious projects cherished by the people for a long time", he said underlining the significance of these communication links in the socio-economic development of the State.

Omar Abdullah said that up to the mark road communication in a State like Jammu and Kashmir is all the more important for its geographical diversity, hilly terrain and remoteness. He said the rail communication to provide alternate and all whether commuting facility for the people and transshipment of goods including fruit and vegetables from the State is of significant economic importance to the Valley. He said both the projects of 4-laning of National Highway and Railway link between Jammu and Srinagar would help generation wide-ranging economic activities for the people in the State.

The Chief Minister this afternoon inspected the pace of work on both these projects at Qazigund, Galander and other places on National Highway and received presentation from the concerned agencies on the status of progress of the works.

The Chief Minister inspected the Pir Panchal Railway Tunnel (T-80) connecting Jammu to Kashmir Valley through Pir Panchal mountain range of Himalaya. The Pir Panchal Tunnel is the longest rail tunnel in India located between the Banihal in South and Qazigund in North with 10.960 kilometers length. The tunnel is completely straight and runs almost parallel to North-South direction.

Presenting the status report of the project, the Railway Authorities told the Chief Minister that the Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway project of Indian Railways has been declared a National Project and it envisages construction of large number of tunnels and bridges to be implemented in highly, rugged and mountainous terrains with most difficult Himalayan geology.

The alignment also crosses deep gorges of Chenab River. The 359 meter
bridge over River Chenab will be the highest bridge in the world and longest span of BG Rail line with each span of 467 meters. The total length of the bridge is 1315 meters coming up at a cost of Rs. 5120 million. The main arch span of the bridge is 467 meters.

Enquiring about the status of jobs being provided by the Railway to the locals, the Chief Minister was told that permanent jobs are being provided in Railways to one of the family members whose more than 75 percent land has been acquired and so far 650 such families have been benefited. It was also given out that employment to the locals for day-to-day requirements is being provided.

The Chief Minister also inspected 9 kilometer long tunnel at Qazigund being constructed by National Highway Authority of India under the 4-laning of National Highway project between Lakhanpur to Srinagar. The concerned authorities presented the status of progress on the project to the Chief Minister. It was stated that 114 kilometers of 400 kilometer road project have been completed at a cost of over Rs. 590 crores. This includes stretch from Lakhanpur to Jammu including 15 kilometers Jammu Bye-Pass and 17.80 kilometers Srinagar Bye-Pass.

The work on 286 kilometer road length is under way in 6 packages. The major structures to be constructed include two tunnels of 10.8 kilometers length at Chenani and 9.2 kilometers at Qazigund. It also envisages construction of 12 shorter tunnels, 34 major bridges and 24 viaducts.

[infra desperados]

JK CM Inspects Railway, NHW tunnels at Qazigund

CM-Railway Tunnel-10


JK CM - National HighwayTunnel-10

[kesi0072011]

http://millenniumpost.in/NewsContent.aspx?NID=5127
10 July 2012, New Delhi, Nitish K Singh

The alignment issue of Jammu-Baramulla rail line haunts the prestigious project again.





FAVOURITE EMAIL PRINTThe Indian Railways has now, in principle, decided to abandon the construction of Anjikhad bridge near Katra on the 126-kilometre-long controversial Katra-Banihal rail line in higher Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. The railways has already abandoned about 70 per cent of the controversial alignment in the higher Himalayas, after repeatedly ignoring the opinions of experts, including the eminent railway engineer E Sreedharan.

Last month, the Railway Board decided to abandon the much-touted mega-arch bridge over the Anji river north of the Katra town. This belated decision is a clear sign that the board did not consider the proposal for a change of alignment properly for the last so many years, ignoring advice from its own engineers.

The railways was still hopeful of constructing the Anji bridge till January, when it floated a tender for its design. It was meant to have closed in March. But, soon, the reality dawned on the railway officials and they realised that the alignment of the line was wrong and it could not sustain such a sensitive bridge over the Anji. The construction work on the line reached the edge of the river [as shown in the picture].

With the abandoning of the Anji bridge project, the construction work on this section has come to a standstill almost 10 years after the project was started. Earlier, the railways had got into trouble with the design and alignment of the much-hyped bridge over the Chenab, which is about 19 kilometres away from the Anji bridge. Effectively, just five per cent of the work has been completed on this section, which was supposed to have opened for the public in 2007.

Many railway officials feel that the disagreement over the alignment of this line is caused by the ego tussle among the top officials of the organisation.

There are three sections of the complete project, one of which has already been completed and opened for the public as the Baramulla-Qazigund line. However, it is of little use for commuters as the valley is still not connected with Katra via Banihal.

Now, the issue of alignment of this railway line has reached the Delhi high court through a public interest litigation. The petitioner Centre for Public Interest Litigation, represented by Prashant Bhushan, has argued that the alignment of this line has design defects and should be changed, taking into account the alternative designs proposed by the former chief engineer of Northern Railway A K Verma and others.

[kesi0072011]

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...ient=firefox-a