The IRCON International Limited has issued a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) to M/s Skylark Designer and Engineers Private Limited for Survey works of Katra-Banihal Section in Connection with Construction of Katra-Dharam Qazigund section of USBRL New Rail Link Project ( Package Survey-S4)”
- Tender Ref No: IRCON/1014/14/JK D-Q/SurveyTeam KB Section/S4/456
- Name of work: Hiring of Survey Teams on team Month Basis for Survey works of Katra-Banihal Section in Connection with Construction of Katra-Dharam Qazigund section of USBRL New Rail Link Project ( Package Survey-S4).
- Contract Value: INR 77.52 Lakhs
- Work Completion Period (in days): 546
About the Project:
- The USBRL (Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link) is a National project undertaken by the Indian Railways for construction of a broad-gauge railway line through the Himalayas with the aim of connecting the Kashmir region with rest of the country.
- The all-weather, comfortable, convenient and cost effective mass transportation system will be the catalyst for the overall development of the northernmost alpine region of the country.
- Construction of the first three phases of the project has been completed and the line is in operational use for running of trains between Baramulla-Banihal in Kashmir valley and Jammu-Udhampur-Katra in Jammu region.
- Work on the intervening 111 Km section Katra-Banihal, the most arduous and treacherous portion due to its geology and extensive riverine system replete with deep gorges is ongoing.
- There are several iconic bridges and tunnels coming up in this section.
- Most of the rail track is slated to be in tunnels or bridges in this section.
- In the absence of an effective surface transport system in this in-hospitable region, Railways had to first lay access roads to the tune of 205 Km to reach the construction sites.
- Three agencies; IRCON, KRCL and Northern Railway with extensive experience in construction of rail lines are involved in this project.
- Many international agencies and premier Indian institutes like IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi, DRDO and Geological Survey of India are providing expertise in planning and implementation.
- Several sets of tunnelling machineries and cranes have also been imported.
- Presently 95% of the Arch work of the Chenab Bridge, world’s tallest railway bridge is complete, while the work on the Anji bridge, an asymmetric cable stayed bridge is on in full swing.
- 81.21Km of the total 97.64 Km main tunnelling and 53.50 Km out of 60.5 Km escape tunnel works have been completed.
- 12 mega and 10 minor bridges have been completed.
- Laying of the remaining 12 mega bridges and one more minor bridge is to be completed by 2021-22.
Source: IRCON-Tender update | Image Credit: MoR
