The Kashmir Railway (Hindi: कश्मीर रेलवे, Urdu: کشمیر ریلوے Kaśmīr rēlavē) is a railway line being built in India to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country. Officially termed the Jammu Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Railway Link (JUSBRL), the railway starts from Jammu and, when completed, will travel for 345 kilometres (214 mi) to the city of Baramulla on the northwestern edge of the Kashmir Valley. The route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it an extremely challenging engineering project.[1]
Forming a part of Firozpur division of the Northern Railway zone, the line has been under construction since 1983 by various railway companies in India. When completed, it will link the state's winter capital of Jammu with the summer capital of Srinagar and beyond. The project has had a long and chequered history but serious progress was made only after it was declared a National Project in 2002. The scheduled date of completion was August 15, 2007. However, several unforeseen complications have pushed back the final completion deadline to 2017 at the earliest so a through service from central India to Kashmir will not be possible till then.
The USBRL project is divided into four sections:[1]
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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 (3,400 m) over the Pir Panjal Range. This can be compared to the present day Banihal Tunnel at approximately 7,000 feet (2,100 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: Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi kicks off the line from Jammu to Udhampur. An optimistic schedule of five years and a budget of 50 crore (US$9.5 million) 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.[5]
1994: Railway minister 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.
July 2002: 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 crore (US$1.1 billion) for the entire project. By the Railways' allocation it would have taken 60 years to complete the project. A challenging deadline of August 15, 2007, Independence Day, was also set.
April 13, 2005: The Jammu-Udhampur line, 55 kilometres (34 mi) long, is inaugurated, 21 years and 515 crore (US$97.9 million) after its commencement, marking the completion of Leg 0.[2][6] The line has 20 major tunnels and 158 bridges. Its longest tunnel is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) and its highest bridge is 77 metres (253 ft) - the highest railway bridge in India. This is in the relatively easy Shivalik Hills.
2008: The Ministry of Railways orders cancellation of the project on the existing alignment between Katra and Qazigund, due to suspected geological instabilities. It instructs KRCL to stop all work on the section, including the Chenab Bridge, and terminate all contracts issued for work on the section, pending consideration of major changes in the alignment.[7][8] The Railway Board constitutes a high-level committee to examine the feasibility of Leg 2 of the project and rework the alignment through the Pir Panjal Mountains,[9] proposing to undertake a fresh survey for construction of the line on a shorter alignment.[10]
October 11, 2008 - The first isolated section of 66 kilometres (41 mi) between Manzhama and Anantnag on Leg 3 is inaugurated, 14 months behind schedule. The train service will operate twice a day in either direction. Complications continue to plague the connection to the plains.[11][12]
February 14, 2009 : The existing train service on Leg 3 is extended to Baramulla.[13][14]
June 2009 : Work on the section between Katra and Qazigund resumes after the committee set up to review the alignment approves the existing one with minor changes.[15] Additional geo-technical tests of the rock strata and changes to other portions of the alignment changes are now being reviewed.[16]
October 28, 2009: The 18-kilometre-long section (11 mi) from Anantnag to Qazigund is inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, marking the completion of Leg 3.[4]
Leg 1 has repeatedly missed promised opening dates, including December 2005, December 2006[17] and May 2009.[18] Work on the section, which had been suspended for two years due to water logging inside a tunnel, resumed in September 2009,[19] and the latest estimate is 2013.[3]
Leg 2 remains uncertain, plagued by technical difficulties and disputes with contractors over the choice of alignment,[16] and is not expected to be completed until 2017.[3][20][21][22]
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Legend
Schematic map of the Kashmir Railway showing the major |
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The Kashmir Railway is perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken on the Indian subcontinent by government of India. The terrain passes through the young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems.[1] The alignment for the line presents one of the greatest railway engineering challenges ever faced, with the only contest coming from the Qingzang Railway in Tibet, China which was completed in 2006 and crosses permanently frozen ground and climbs to more than 5,000 metres (16,000 ft) above sea level. While the temperatures of the Kashmir Railway area are not as severe as Tibet, it does still experience extreme winters with heavy snowfalls. However, what makes the route even more complex is the requirement to pass through the Himalayan foothills and the mighty Pir Panjal range, with most peaks exceeding 15,000 feet (4,600 m) in height.
The route includes many bridges, viaducts and tunnels – the railway is expected to cross a total of over 750 bridges and pass through over 100 kilometres (62 mi) of tunnels, the longest of which is about 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) in length.[1] The greatest engineering challenges involve the crossing of the Chenab river, which involves building a 1,315-metre-long (4,314 ft) bridge 359 metres (1,178 ft) above the river bed, and the crossing of the Anji Khad, which involves building a 657-metre-long (2,156 ft) bridge 186 metres (610 ft) above the river bed.[23] The Chenab 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. The project is being managed by the Konkan Railway Corporation. Completion is scheduled for 2012, four years after the first isolated section of the route was opened for local passenger services, and it requires the use of 26,000 t 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 solutions 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 broadgauge of 1,676 millimetres (5.499 ft) gauge, laid on concrete sleepers with continuous welded rail and with a minimum curve radius of 676 m. Maximum line speed will be 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph).[1] 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, as 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 55 km access route has been built to Udhampur.
Passenger services will be provided by the new aerodynamic High Power diesel multiple units, which have certain special features incorporated into them. The air-conditioned coaches have wide windows for a panoramic view, anti-skid flooring, sliding doorways, heating facilities, an attractive colour scheme and executive class reclining seats inside. The driver's cabin has a heating and defogging unit to take care of cold climatic conditions and is fitted with single lookout glass windows to give a wider view. A snow-cutting type cattle guard has been attached at the driving end of the train for clearing snow from the tracks during winter. In view of the peculiar climate of the valley, the 1,400-horsepower diesel engine for the train has been provided with a heating system for a quick and trouble-free start in the winters. A public information system with display and announcement facilities are included in the coaches which have pneumatic suspension for better riding comfort. There is also a compartment for physically challenged people with wider doors.[24]
Freight rolling stock for the new route will be from the existing national fleet. 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 workshop just north of Srinagar.
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 Railway Corporation's ACD (Anti-Collision Device) being supplied for equipment on the line.
Security for the line has been a major concern, with the regions the line passes through continuing to face terrorist challenges.[25] The presence of the international border with Pakistan close by aggravates these challenges. Plans for close circuit cameras at all major bridges, tunnels and railway stations have been made. Lighting is provided on all major bridges and inside tunnels. Additionally a special security detail to protect the infrastructure has been contemplated.
June 2004 — Sudhir Kumar Pundir, an IRCON Engineer and his brother Sanjay were kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in the valley.[28]
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.
Apr 18, 2008 — Six labourers of a private company, engaged with the Katra-Qazigund railway line project, were killed and two others received injuries when a tipper carrying them rolled down into a deep gorge in Lower Juda Morh near Kouri in Reasi district late last night. Besides Tara Chand, others have been identified as Resham Singh and Shambhu Ram, both residents of Pattian in Reasi, Dhani Ram, Sandeep Lal and Vishno, residents of Nepal. [29]
Mar 27, 2011 — Two workers,Abdul Rahman (34) and Jumma Baksh (24), were killed at an under-construction railway bridge over the Chenab in Reasi district today as a basket attached to a crane carrying them unhooked and fell from a height of more than 100 metres. [30]
Dec 2010 — Railways complete construction of crucial tunnel in Sangaldam between the Katra-Qazigund [31]
Feb 2011 — It was reported by an Indian news channel that there was a consensus among the top railway officials of the country that the present rail alignment of the project was not ideal.[32]
Oct 2011 — Banihal-Qazigund railway tunnel, Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, the 10.96 Km long railway tunnel, passes through the Pir Panjal Range of middle Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a part of its Udhampur - Srinagar - Baramulla rail link project, opened in October 2011, India's longest and Asia's second longest railway tunnel and reduced the distance between Quazigund and Banihal to only 11 km .[33][34][35]
The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal asked the central Government of India to expand the Bhanupali-Bilaspur- Beri railway through Mandi-Manali to Leh. This would serve two main purposes, to increase tourism in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh, as well as increase security allowing transportation into the area quicker.[36][37] Later, the Union Railway Ministry of India after examining the feasibility report for the proposed Bilaspur-Manali-Leh Railway line had forwarded it to the Planning Commission of India for its approval.[38]