Banihal-Qazigund rail link through India's longest railway tunnel opens

BANIHAL: A 11-km-long tunnel across the treacherous Pir Panjal mountain range on the Banihal-Qazigund railway line in Jammu and Kashmir, dedicated on June 26 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is the longest such transportation passage in India and second longest in Asia.

About 1,300 workers and 150 engineers worked tirelessly overcoming all odds for the last seven years to accomplish the engineering marvel. The work on the tunnel had started in November 2005.

The tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) and it is for the first time such a method has been used on such a large scale in India.

Hindustan Construction Company, which implemented the project, said the Pir Panjal tunnel is the longest transportation tunnel in India and second longest in Asia.

An HCC official said China had constructed the longest tunnel in Asia.

"The HCC project team sustained round-the-clock work execution across all project fronts, even in freezing winter temperatures, with a singular objective - to successfully execute this project of national importance," President and Whole Time Director of HCC Arun Karambelkar said.

He said that during the course of work, the project team faced several technical challenges due to unpredictable geology and inconsistency of the "rock mass" of the region.

"Despite the challenges, the project team successfully completed the work with a zero accident record," he said.

The tunnel is totally water proof and equipped with a fire fighting system across the entire length of the tunnel.

The tunnel passes approximately 440 metres below the existing Jawahar Road Tunnel.