KRCL fast tracks Rs. 6,100cr rail project

Ensuring the commissioning of the rail project as quickly as possible, Konkan Railway Corporation has recently extended the deadline for the completion of Katra Dharam stretch of the much awaited Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link to 2019 as the project in question will connect Kashmir valley with the rest of the country. Prior to this, the deadline for the project entailing expansion cost of worth Rs. 6,100cr, was 2018 for the 35-km long track, being constructed for the past 13 years and will now be completed in 2019 by KRCL. As of now about 50 to 60% of the work is complete, but 2019 is the target to achieve the commissioning of the project, Chief Managing Director, KRCL Sanjay Gupta, said, adding that once the project will be completed, it may further take some time to finally run train on the track as out of the 35 km-long stretch, in 28 km there would be 14 tunnels of which 12 are ready and that tunnel 1 will take two more years to complete the rest of the two tubes as T1 will be completed in December 2016, while Tube T5 is slated to be in 2017. Two emergency exit tunnels are also being constructed along these with two tunnels to rescue the travellers in cases of crisis. In the 3.5 km-stretch, there are 21 bridges, including the world‘s highest rail bridge on river Chenab.