By ashleykaren
As officials reported, India’s longest escape tunnel, the 12.89 km tunnel, was completed on the 111 km under-construction Banihal-Katra railway line in Jammu and Kashmir.
The tunnel is a part of the highly regarded Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project. It is the fourth tunnel on the Banihal-Katra line, following the 12.75 km tunnel T-49 (India’s longest tunnel) that was completed in January of this year. The ‘T-13’ escape tunnel, was constructed to support with rescue efforts in the event of an emergency.
The world’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab River in the Kouri area of the Reasi district achieved a milestone in August when the overarch deck was finished with a golden joint.
Using a blast helped complete the breakthrough, and after it, work on the escape tunnel started.
After successfully navigating essential cavity development, the construction of the escape tunnel (12.895 km) for the longest rail tunnel T-49, between Khari and Banihal stations of Katra, as a part of the USBRL project, was completed.
The tunnel is a modified horseshoe-shaped one linking the Sumber station yard on the south side with the T-50 tunnel on the north side after passing bridge number 4 across Khoda nullah at Khoda hamlet.
The Sumber’s south end has a peak of approximately 1400.5 m, while the north end has an elevation of 1558.84 m.
T-49 Tunnel is a twin tube tunnel with the main tunnel (12.75 km) and an escape tunnel (12.895 km) linked by 33 cross-passages. Several difficulties were experienced during building, comprising a shear zone, perched aquifer, heavily jointed rock mass, and among others, significant water infiltration.
Out of the 272 km of the USBRL project, 161 km has already been commissioned and operationalized. Balancing 111 km between Katra and Banihal is in progress at a fast speed.
