Another step for direct train from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, Bankot tunnel ready in Banihal
The Northern Railway has overcome another challenge to connect the Kashmir Valley with the national railway network. The excavation of a two-kilometre long tunnel from Banihal to Bankote in the Ramban district at the cost of 300 crores was completed on Sunday.
With the tunnel ending in two phases, most of the tunnelling work between the Banihal and Khari sections has been completed. The construction of the tunnel will further accelerate the work of the project.
A railway official said that the 110 km long Katra-Banihal rail route would be completed in two years. Additional District Deputy Commissioner Ramban Harbans Lal Sharma participated in the program to meet both ends of the tunnel.
He said that the Railways had overcome another challenge. The dream of travelling from Kashmir to Kanyakumari by train will come true in the next two years.
Imran Baig, Managing Director of Baig Construction Company (BCC), said that the road header machine is being used for the first time to dig railway tunnels in the Kashmir Rail Project. Explosions do not have to be carried for digging tunnels with road header machines.
The explosion technique causes damage to houses in the surrounding residential areas. The construction is being executed in a completely safe and precise manner.
The total length of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link is 272 km, with the most challenging 53 km area falling in the Ramban district. Here 96 per cent of the railway track will pass through underground tunnels. The district administration has handed over 11 thousand kanals of land to the railways for the railway project.
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JAMMU KASHMIR