For the purpose of execution /monitoring , the work has been sub
divided into the following four legs :-
- Leg-1 : Udhampur –Katra (25 KM -Work completed and section
commissioned in July-2014.
- Leg-2 : Katra- Banihal (111 KM) – Work in progress
- Leg-3: Banihal –Quazigund ( 18KM) -Work completed
and section commissioned in June 2013.
- Leg-4: Quazigund –Baramulla (118 KM) - -Work completed and
section commissioned in three phases, last phase commissioned
in Oct. -2009.
This Project is, perhaps, the most difficult new railway line project
undertaken on Indian subcontinent. The terrain passes through young
Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems.
The execution of the work in the balanced portion between the Katra
and Banihal (111 KM) has been divided among three agencies as under:-
- Northern Railway – 5 Km.
- KRCL
- 53 Km
- IRCON -
53 Km.
5.0 Status
of works on Katra -Banihal Section (111 Km)
Presently Katra - Banihal section is the missing link to
connect Kashmir Valley to rest of India through the vast Indian Railway
network. The status of progress of works on this section is as under:
Summary of Progress: Katra- Banihal Section
6.
Status of Mega Bridges /Tunnels:
| S.No. |
Activity |
Scope |
Executed Upto 30.11.2022 |
Balance as on 01.12.2022 |
| 1 (a) |
Main Tunnel (Mining) |
97.64 Km |
96.65 Km |
0.83 Km |
| 1 (b) |
Escape Tunnel (Mining) |
66.40 Km |
65.76 Km |
0.64 Km |
| 2. |
Major Bridges |
26 nos |
20 nos |
06 ( work in progress) |
| 3. |
Minor Bridges |
11 nos |
11 nos |
0 |
| 4.. |
Access roads |
205 Km. |
205 Km |
Nil |
a) Chenab bridge on River Chenab
The iconic Chenab bridge is being constructed in Reasi district of
Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the most challenging Udampur-
Sringar- Baramulla- Rail-link project (USBRL) Project of Indian Railways.
The bridge is about 111 km by Road from Jammu on ongoing Katra- Banihal
section.
Fig1 : Key Plan of the Bridge
This iconic
bridge across the river Chenab having central span of 467 m is being
built at a height of 359m from the bed level (Height of QutabMinar
is 72 m and of Eiffel Tower is 324 m). This is the Highest railway
bridge on the globe being constructed. For construction of Arch portion
of bridge over the river, a novel method of construction using the
cable car is designed and commissioned. Two number of cable cars having
capacity of 20 MT each and 37 MT in tandem runs on 54mm cables laid
across the river valley and connected through 127 m high pylon (tower)
on Kauri end & 105 m on Bakkal end of the river.
The Chenab bridge will usher in fresh era in J&K due to Increased
employment opportunities for the youth, improved infrastructure due
to construction of access roads, Better facilities for students to
travel to other parts of the country for educational purposes, Boost
to tourist industry, connectivity of far flung areas to mainstream
of country and overall economic development of the state. Remotely
located Villages at kauri and Bakkalends of construction sites, which
until now have no vehicular means to travel to Reasi district and
other places , have started enjoying fruits of development brought
about by construction of black topped approach roads in region. Infact,
A window of worldful of opportunities has opened up to local population
of the region.
A.
Salient Features of Chenab Bridge:
| 1. |
Total No of Spans |
17 Nos. |
| 2. |
Overall length |
1315 m |
| 3. |
Single Arch Span |
467 m |
| 4. |
Bridge Deck height above river bed level |
359 m |
| 5. |
Max Height of Steel Pier |
130.855 m |
| 6. |
Max Height of Concrete Pier |
49.343 m |
| 7. |
Max. Ht. of Concrete Pier |
49.343 meters |
8. |
Maximum designed Wind Speed |
266 kmph |
B. Status of Chenab Bridge construction:
• Earthwork in excavation completed.
• All foundations of Chenab Bridge (18 Nos) & substructure
completed.
• Launching of 490m deck (superstructure) on transition &
circular curve from Kauri end of Chenab Bridge has been successfully
completed.
• Fabrication work in progress.
• All Fabrication works for Piers, trestles & arch completed.
b) Anji Bridge:
Construction of Anji Bridge is extremely difficult and an Engineering
challenge. Although, it is smaller in comparison to Chenab Bridge,
but it is also an important bridge on this section and after construction,
it will be 195m above the river bed and main span across steep slope
of Anji Khad River will be 290 mtrs. AnjiKhad Bridge is country's
"first cable-stayed bridge" on Indian Railways.
The bridge is located in the young fold mountains of Himalayas having
extremely complex, fragile and daunting geological features in the
form of faults, folds and thrusts and besides seismic proneness of
the region. Detailed site specific investigations were carried out
by IIT, Roorkee and IIT Delhi. Slopes of the mountain supporting one
foundation of main span have been stabilised by a special hybrid foundation
on Katra end due to space constraints. The major portion of the bridge
works including Main Pylon with 40m deep Hybrid foundation, Central
Embankment and Ancillary Viaduct were carried out on Srinagar end.
For ease of construction and keeping in view the typical site conditions,
this bridge has been divided into 3 parts:
• 120 m long approach viaduct (called “ancillary viaduct”)
on Reasi side.
• Main bridge, crossing the deep valley (473.25m cable stayed
portion).
• Central embankment (94.25m), located between the main bridge
and an approach (ancillary) viaduct.
AnjiKhad Bridge connects tunnel T2 and T3 on the Katra-Banihal Section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project. AnjiKhad Bridge has a single main pylon of height 193m from the top of foundation, standing at a height of 331 metres above the river bed. The total length of Bridge is 687m consisting of Main Bridge having the length of 473.25 metres, Ancillary viaduct of 120 metres length and the central embankment of 94.25 metres length. It is an asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge balanced on the axis of a central pylon. The Total deck Width of Bridge is 15m.
Various unique techniques and equipments are being used like DOKA JumpformShuttering .Pump Concreting System to increase efficiency, providing higher safety for workers and for saving construction time. State of the art Tower crane, make 'COMANSA'(imported from Spainof 40 T capacity with extentendable height up to 205 mtrs is being used for enhancing the construction activities for heights upto 193m.
Status report of the bridge:
The Ancillary viaduct portion has been completed.
Central Embankment has been completed.
Sub-Structure Completed.
Main Pylon will be 193 M when completed.
c) Brige no 43: Launching of super structure of
Mega Bridge no. 43 having length of 777m with span arrangement (1*35+1*53+
10*64+1*49) is under progress
Bridge No 39: Launching of superstructure of Mega bridge
no. 39 having length of 490m with span arrangement of 1x53.15 + 6 x
64 + 1x 53.15 meters is under progress
7. Tunneling
• USBRL Project involves construction of nearly 186 km tunneling
works (38 Main Tunnels and 8 Escape tunnels)of which 122 km is Main
tunnel and 66 km escape tunnel.The escape tunnel is for rescue and
restoration work and is provided parallel to the main tunnels exceeding
3 km in length.
• 97 Km out of 111 Km (i.e. 87%) of length of Katra-Banihal
section is in tunnels.
• 66 Km Of Escape Tunnels are Also Being Constructed as relief
and rescue measures as per international standards( first time on
Indian Railways )
• In Katra- Banihal section, very long tunnels are being constructed
and 5 tunnels are having length more than 8km.
• At present the Longest transportation tunnel (11.215 km) Pirpanjal
Tunnel in the country has been completed and commissioned between
Banihal and Quazigund.
• However, tunnel T-49 which is under construction is 12.75
km long and once completed will surpass the above Pirpanjal Tunnel.
