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07-20-2008, 05:39 PM
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Jammu and Kasmir railway-Yet another indian railway marvel
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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. video download links of ibn live programme RapidShare: Easy Filehosting Last edited by mukugoks; 07-20-2008 at 07:18 PM. |
