Prime Minister to dedicate Jammu Tawi Udhampur Rail line to the Nation on April 13.
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will flag off the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express and dedicate the Jammu Tawi-Udhampur Rail line to the nation at Udhampur on Wednesday, the 13th April 2005. The Railway Minister Shri Lalu Prasad, the Ministers of State Shri Naranbhai, J. Rathwa and Shri R. Velu, the Chairman, Railway Board and other senior officials of Ministry of Railways will be present on the occasion. The Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Lt. Gen (Retd) Shri S.K. Sinha, the Chief Minister of J&K Shri Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, the Dy. Chief Minister of J&K, Shri Mangatram Sharma and other dignitaries would also be present on the occasion.
The 54.85 Km Jammu Udhampur Rail line, which is part of the ambitious Jammu-Udhampur-Shrinagar-Baramula Rail link, will be a unique gift and a fulfillment of UPA government’s promise to the people. The completion cost of the project is likely to be Rs.515 crores. Jammu-Udhampur new broad gauge rail line connects Jammu, the winter capital of J&K State, with Udhampur, an important district Hd.Qr. of the State. The foundation stone for this project was laid at Udhampur on 14th April, 1983 by the then Prime Minister of India, late (Smt.) Indira Gandhi.
This railway line will give a further boost to tourist traffic for the valley, as the traveling time by road beyond the proposed railhead at Udhampur will be reduced. In addition to the economic gains that are likely to accrue, the proposed extension of the railway line up to Udhampur, would also indirectly add to social and cultural benefits and contribute towards thickening the existing bonds that knit the people of the State with the rest of the nation.
The challenges of construction of this prestigious project in mountainous regions includes the building of high embankments, long and tall bridges across deep gorges, long tunnels and deep cutting of the mountains. The challenge increases multi fold as the project is executed in a terrain of the young Himalayas where the geology is seismologically sensitive. The project was a challenge to the engineers of India, in general, and to the railway engineers in particular. The important features of this unique project also include hollow tapering pier shafts raised on well/raft foundation in seismic zone of Himalayan regions. Cantilever construction of pre-stressed concrete high rise box girders, encompassing rivers, nallahs and unstable hill tops, laying tunnels through soft and medium fragile sedimentary rocky strata, accentuated by the fact that the terrain is tough, approaches are difficult and overall un-favorable working environment.
The project links Jammu to Udhampur connecting on way four stations i.e. Bajalta, Sangar, Manwal and Ramnagar and crossing the mighty Tawi river and its tributaries such as Sardan, Ringhal, Gambhir and Dudhar.
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(Release ID :8500)