Railway tunnel at the foot of the Himalayas

Проект

The most challenging railway project since India regained independence without Rawlplug’s support? Not an option.

272 km is the length of the railway line from Udhampur to Baramulla, linking the Kashmir Valley with the Indian railway network under the Undhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. The investment is so important that it was declared a project of national relevance as early as in 2002. At the same time, it is not a simple one, to put it mildly. The tunnels to be constructed as part of the USBRL are being driven in a very irregular mountainous terrain characterised by the most difficult and complex Himalayan geological structure.

There will be as many as 38 transport tunnels in total. The longest one (not just under this project, but in entire India) is 12.75 km, while the length of them all is 119 km.

The USBRL also requires bridges, including the Chenab Bridge (total length – 1,315 m, arch span – 467 m, height – 359 m above the river bed), to become the highest railway bridge in the world. Not enough? Anji Khad will become the Indian Railways’ first cable-stayed bridge.

The process in which the investment partner was chosen took as long as two years, and (mainly due to the competition’s no-so-fair play) it saw several twists and turns. However, the final decision made by the contractors, Konkan Railway Corporation Limited India and Shree Electricals, left no space for doubt: it was Rawlplug that signed the contract to handle tunnels T6 to T12. And so we have provided KRCL and Shree Electricals with 88,000 R-HPTII-A4 anchors made of the highest-quality stainless steel (low in carbon content, with copper addition, standing out by their excellent heat resistance on top of their anti-corrosive properties), which prove essential in such demanding terrain. 

Speaking of deliveries… While other parties pursuing the contract mentioned something like 2–3 months in terms of delivery times, Rawlplug managed the task within… 3 weeks. Our production efficiency and logistic precision were considered very impressive in India, causing the atmosphere in our relationships with private contractors such as TATA Group, L&T Group, IRCON, and GECPL to become even more positive.