Railway Line Report

8/8/2019 Railway Line Report

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INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND

From strategic point of view, socio economic development of the Jammu and Kashmir state hasbeen vital for Government of India and therefore, construction of Jammu-Udampore-Katra-Qazigund-

Srinagar-Baramulla Railway line has been taken by Northern railway as a national project. The section of

Jammu- Udampore was sanctioned in 1981-1982 and is now working. Similarly, the Udampore Katra

and Qazigund-Srinagar-Baramulla sections were sanctioned during 1994-1995 and are almost

compelete. However in between stretch of Katra-Qazigund is recently taken up for construction and M/s

Konkon Railway has been entrusted with the work of katra- Laole portion, where as M/s IRCON will be

executing the work for Loae-Qazigund section.

Pir Panchal rail tunnel


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SPECIAL REQUIREMENT

The rail link proposed is of utmost importance for movement of men and goods to the high

range habitats of Kashmir. All the essentials materials have to go from the plains. Being a global tourist

destination, a large no of people travel to Kashmir from all over the world. In addition J&K state is a

border state of the country, the strategic needs are also very important. Therefore, stability of the raillink to perform all round the year without interruption, ensuring safety of operations and security of the

vital transport link, which is sustainable for a long period of time, becomes the primary considerations

for the selection of the alignment.

The upcoming 10.96-km Pir Panchal rail tunnel is set to become the world's longest railway tunnel.

Considered the longest in the Indian Railway network, the tunnel from Banihal in the Jammu region to

Lower Munda in the Kashmir Valley is estimated to cost Rs.24 billion (Rs.2,400 crores). About 95 percent

of the work is complete and around Rs.22 billion has been spent. The railway project comprises three

sections - Udhampur-Katra, Katra-Qazigund and Qazigund-Baramulla, taken up at a cumulative cost of

Rs.11,000 crores. The Qazigund-Baramulla section in the valley will have 15 stations and the Srinagar(Nowgam) station is billed to be, architecturally and aesthetically, the most beautiful station of the

Indian Railways. Once completed, it would generate direct employment for 3,900 people in the valley,

apart from many opportunities for indirect employment. The Katra-Qazigund segment of the project will

have the third highest bridge in the world over the Chenab river at Arnas in Jammu region. The special

feature of this section is that 80 percent of the 148-km track would be covered by tunnels and 12

percent by bridges, thus leaving only eight percent open. Banihal (J&K): The countdown for the

commissioning of Indias longest railway tunnel in the Kashmir Valley has started, with the completion of

tunnelling work from opposite ends. The feat was achieved over the weekend. The 11-kilometre-long

Pir Panjal tunnel between Banihal and Qazigund is part of the 340-km-long railway project in Jammu

and Kashmir, which will link the Valley with the rest of the country.

National project

The rail link, declared a National Project in 2002, will provide an all-weather means of transport in an

area which is snow-bound for a significant part of the year. It is also expected to generate employment

and improve the infrastructure in the State. Construction of the railway line is being simultaneously

carried out between Udhampur and Katra, Katra and Qazigund, and on the Qazigund Srinagar

Baramulla sections. The tunnel is an engineering marvel: It is being built along a route dotted with

difficult geological features such as hard rocky surfaces, deep gorges and seemingly inaccessible steeps.

The tunnel boasts state-of-art safety and design features. Minute attention has been paid to ventilation,

fire-fighting and drainage. Steps have been taken to prevent water-logging too. The tunnel has five

working faces, instead of the usual two, and it has brought down construction time from seven years to

five years.

Many firsts

Estimated to cost Rs.647 crore, the tunnel has many firsts to its credit such as the extensive use of road

header (a tunneling machine) and the adoption of the New Austrian Tunneling Method on a large scale


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anywhere in the country. In the New Austrian Tunneling Method, the surrounding rock or soil

formations of a tunnel are integrated into an overall ring-like support structure. Thus the geological

stress of the surrounding rock mass is used to stabilize the tunnel itself. The tunnel also has a three-

meter-wide road running parallel to the tracks inside. Rakesh Chopra, Member (Engineering) of the

Railway Board, told a team of visiting journalists that it will be used in times of emergency to ferry trucks

or ambulances. The railway project itself has several other unique distinctions.It is the biggest project to

be undertaken by the Railways since Independence, and it is the only mountain railway in India to be

built on broad gauge. If the tunnel is the longest in India, a railway bridge over Chenab river is the

highest in the world. The 1.3-km-long bridge is at an elevation of 359 metres above the river bed. It is

five times higher than the Qutub Minar in Delhi and 35 metres higher than the tip of Eiffel Tower in

Paris, France. The railway line will connect Valley with Jammu, where engineers have already built 53

kilometres of access route with 10 kilometres of tunnels, 36 major bridges and 122 minor bridges. These

roads have connected villages that could be accessed only by foot.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THEPROJECT AREA

TOPOGRAPHY

The terrain is entirely mountainous and a part of Western Himalayas and lies within zone 5 of

seismic zoning map of India. The topography is extremely rugged and has very sparse population and

road network. Thus the work sites are not assiccible. The area is pronen to landslides and washouts.

There are many numbers of springs in the area highlighting the fact that the ground is charged with

water, which will pose serious problems during construction and maintance of Tunnels.

GEOLOGY

The Himalaya an acute mountain belt is 2400KM along the strike, with varied tectonic zones.

Jammu and Kashmir section of the Himalayas consists of sedimentary, metamorphic and igneous group

of rocks.

This region is classified as Himalayan and Naga Lushai mountain belts/Fore deep zone of

structural ridges and valleys under Morphology/Morpho-tectonic classification by Geological Survey of

India 1995. Stratigraphy (succession of rock formation) of this region is as follows (Krishnan 1982):

Geological Age Rock Formation Rock Types

Pleistocene to Recent Karewas Sand, Clay and waved clays with

plant fossils.Mio-Pleistocene Siwalik Sandstone, clay, shale and

conglomerate

Upper Eocene-Lower Miocene Murre Alternate Sandstone/silt stone,

shale with conglomerate and

pseudo conglomerate.

Pliocene Subanthu Carbonaceous shale with

nummulitic limestone


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Cretaceous Bauxite Breccias, Quartzite, Clay , bauxite

Meso Proterozoic Sirban Limestone, Dolomitic limestone.

GEOLOGICAL DISCONTINUTIES:

There are three major thrust zones identified in Kashmir Himalayas. The southernmost thrust

zone is known as the main boundary Fault that separates Siwalik group of rocks from tertiary and old

rocks. Murree thrust separates the caboniferous to Eocene (geological age) rocks that are folded.

These rocks are folded, raptured and faulted due to tectonic activities. Geological map of

Kashmir Himalayas (Krishna 1982) is attached exhibits one boundary fault separating Siwaliks and

Murree formation runs parallel to the Dhauladhar range and passes through Raisi. Two thrust planes

one along Chenab River and second North of Chenab River are reported. These thrust and boundary

fault and their special distribution are clearly demarcated from the interpretation of IRS images.

The geological discontinuities that are prevalent in the region are joints, faults, thusts and foldedstructures such as anticline syncline that are of concern in the construction stage. Macro level surface

expression of these features was interpreted from the satellite image and their proximity to the tunnels

and bridge locations was demarcated.

SEISMICITY:

Himalayan mountain range is the product of collision between the Indian and Eursian plates that

has started about 50-55 Ma. The convergence rate between the plates is of 50mm/year at present

(Minster & Jordan 1978). The higher elevation of the present day mountain is due to the uplift of rock

formation due to crust, movement directed from north, towards south along Main Continental Thrust

(MCT) and Main Boundary thrust (MBT).

For major earthquakes exceeding magnitude (MS) > = 8.4 have taken place along the Indian

plate margin or Himalayan arc (Seeber & Ambuster 1981). Moderate magnitude (Mb) seems to be

related to several thrusts and or faults associated MBT and MCT. The area lying Northwest of Kangra

including Kashmir and Punjab Himalaya is moderately active (Verma 1999). Satial distribution of

thrust/fault and its proximity to them is critical. There are three thrust boundary faults reported along

the alignment.

Historical events that were reported during 1950-1990 in the region covering 32 -37 deg North

and 73-78 deg East were plotted as attached. This indicates the strain released during a particular period

of time. The maximum magnitude that is expected in the region is shown in the figure attached. Groundacceleration of 200cm/sec2 is expected when an event of magnitude of 5.0 and above takes place within

a distance of 5KM from the epicenter. The acceleration dies of very fast with distance.

Seismic predictions use seismic gaps in space and time for regions oceanic plate boundaries are

involved. The pattern of slope along the Himalaya is very similar to that convergent plate boundary. The

great detachment underlying the sedimentary and metamorphic cover of the Himalaya which is

ruptures from to time resulting great earthquake along Himalayan arc, lies at 10-15KM depth dipping at


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a shallow angle from foothills towards Himalayas. Several thrusts, MBT, MCT and others merge with

detachment. Slip along these thrusts give rise to moderate magnitude earthquakes. Hence, an

appreciable seismic risk exists all along the NW Himalyas front (Verma et al 1999).

In addition to the plate movement, reservoir induced seismicity is also reported from Himalayas

(Guha 2003). Micro-level tremors are reported at regular intervals. Salal (5KM), Baglihar, Chinani,

Dalhausti, Hanzal, Kirthal, Sawalakot (1KM) (approved project) etc. located in this region. Hence there is

a need to incorporate seismic considerations in the design of tunnel, bridge and cut-slope.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT CONSIDERATION:

POSITIVE CONTRIBUTION: to the existing environment from this alignment would be from:-

Fossil fuel consumption and automobile emission. Connectivity between culture and tourism. Movement of goods, men etc.

NEGATIVE CONTRIBUTION: from this construction activities on the environment are due to:-

Natural slope cutting, Road making, Bridge construction blockage of flow, deposition and flow diversion, Tunneling, Stacking of muck extracted from the tunnel, Movement of vehicle and their emission, Exhaust from the tunnel working, Disruption of springs in tunnels, Clearance of trees for road infrastructure and Migrant people and social adjustment.

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Railway Line Report