With the flagging of the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday shared eight notable features of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
In a post on X, Vaishnaw described the project as a “remarkable feat of engineering,” emphasising that it includes “India’s longest transportation tunnel, T-50,” which is 12.77 km long and located between Khari and Sumber.
Additionally, the rail link features India’s second-longest transportation tunnel, T-80 (11.22 km), known as the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, situated between Banihal and Qazigund.
“India’s 3rd longest railway tunnel T-44 stretches over 11.13 Km; between Sawalkote-Sangaldan,” he added.
Vaishnaw highlighted that the project involves the construction of 36 main tunnels with a total length of 119.6 km, along with eight escape tunnels totalling 66.4 km.
He also outlined the details of the Chenab Bridge, which is the world’s highest railway arch bridge, which measures 1.3 km in length and stands at a height of 359 metres —35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower.
The construction involved over 600 km of steel welding, exceeding the length of the railway track from Jammu to Delhi.Vaishnaw took the opportunity to showcase the iconic Anji Bridge, which is India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. 725.5 metres in length, the bridge is balanced on the axis of a single central pylon and the height of a single pylon is 193 m from the top of the foundation.
Remarkably, all 96 stay cables were installed within just 11 months, with a total length of 653 km— more than the distance from Jammu to Delhi.
“Advanced construction technique was specifically adapted to the complex geological and seismic conditions of the Himalayan region – Himalayan Tunneling Method,” his post read.
Another significant feature, the minister shared, was the ‘all weather train movement’ – the installation of ‘ice cutter’ in Vande Bharat trains to clear snow from tracks, ensuring reliable all-weather train movement.
