India is undertaking one of its most challenging railway projects ever by building a line to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the Himalayan foothills. Far from being an ordinary scheme, the 290 km route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain.
The Project
Kashmir has long been separated from India by a lack of suitable transport routes. Currently the only way to reach the area is by a hairpin-road journey. The area also sparks many political debates, as Kashmiri's are not sure what they want and outside forces interfere with progress.
The 290 km extension of the Indian Railway network will allow a 900 km (560 mile) journey direct from Delhi in India to Srinagar, the capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
Constructing the railway route to this isolated region has involved significant engineering challenges, and although the first short section has a 2007 opening date, other major structures are two years behind.
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Many bridges and tunnels are being built, including an 11 km tunnel and the world?s highest railway bridge which towers above the Chenab River.
Infrastructure
The alignment for the Kashmir Railway presents one of the greatest railway engineering challenges ever faced, with the only contest coming from the recently completed China-Tibet rail route which crosses permanently frozen ground and climbs to more than 5,000m above sea level.
This 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 !!!!gn and structure is very similar to the New River Gorge Bridge
It is being project managed by the Konkan Railway Construction between Salal and Laole stations. Completion is scheduled for 2009, two years after the first isolated section of the route is due to open for local passenger services, and it requires the use of 26,000t of steel.
The Kashmir line will connect with the Indian Railways railhead at Jammu, where a 60 km access route has been built to Udhampur. The main sections of the route are between Udhampur and Qazigund ? 75% in tunnels and the responsibility of Konkan Railway Construction Corporation ? with the Qazigund-Baramulla section being constructed by Indian Railways.
The second section to Baramulla is due to open in 2007. However, this will remain isolated until the remaining, more challenging part of the route including the Chenab River crossing is completed in 2009.
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