Railways connects longest tunnel T-49 on Katra-Banihal section

17 Feb 2022 CW Team

The Indian Railways longest tunnel, T-49, between Sumber and Arpinchala station of Katra-Banihal section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) has been connected successfully.

Out of 272 km length of the USBRL project, 161 km length is already operationalised. The railways revealed that the work on the 111 km intervening stretch between Katra Banihal is under construction at a rapid pace.

T-49 is a tunnel 12.758 km long, and it would be the longest tunnel of Indian Railways, surpassing the Peer Panjal Tunnel of 11.2 km in length built by USBRL on the Banihal-Qazigund section.

The tunnel T-49's south portal (SP) is located in the Sumber Village, 45 km away from the District H.Q. Ramban of Jammu and Kashmir, with an altitude of 1400 meters.

Meanwhile, the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near Arpinchala village Tehsil Khari, in District Ramban, at an altitude of about 1600 meters.

T-49 includes two tubes, the first is the main tunnel, and the other escapes the tunnel. The construction of the tunnel is done by using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), an advanced technique of drill and blast method. The Cross-section shape of the tunnel is modified horseshoe-shaped.

To facilitate construction, three adits- Urnihal Adit, Hingni Adit and Kundan Adit have been constructed. The tunnel has a ruling gradient of one in 80 and a designed speed of 100 kmph.

According to the International standards, the Escape Tunnel being constructed parallel to the Main Tunnel is linked to the cross passages at an interval of 375m to enable rescue and restoration work.

The NR commissioned construction work to IRCON International Ltd, which assigned work in two packages to HCC and AFCONS Infrastructure Limited.

HCC is managing 5.1 km length work from South Portal, and AFCONS is executing 7.658 km length work from North Portal.

The railways revealed that they encountered many challenges like highly jointed rock mass, shear zone, rock problems, and much more.The experienced team of engineers of Northern Railway, IRCON, and the executing agencies HCC and AFCONS successfully negotiated every difficulty and made it possible to accomplish this project.

During the tunnel construction, the local population was also employed by the agencies for several works, which also helped the overall socio-economic landscape.

Image Source

Also read: MEIL makes major breakthrough in Zojila La tunnel project

The Indian Railways longest tunnel, T-49, between Sumber and Arpinchala station of Katra-Banihal section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) has been connected successfully. Out of 272 km length of the USBRL project, 161 km length is already operationalised. The railways revealed that the work on the 111 km intervening stretch between Katra Banihal is under construction at a rapid pace. T-49 is a tunnel 12.758 km long, and it would be the longest tunnel of Indian Railways, surpassing the Peer Panjal Tunnel of 11.2 km in length built by USBRL on the Banihal-Qazigund section. The tunnel T-49's south portal (SP) is located in the Sumber Village, 45 km away from the District H.Q. Ramban of Jammu and Kashmir, with an altitude of 1400 meters. Meanwhile, the North Portal (NP) of the tunnel is located near Arpinchala village Tehsil Khari, in District Ramban, at an altitude of about 1600 meters. T-49 includes two tubes, the first is the main tunnel, and the other escapes the tunnel. The construction of the tunnel is done by using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM), an advanced technique of drill and blast method. The Cross-section shape of the tunnel is modified horseshoe-shaped. To facilitate construction, three adits- Urnihal Adit, Hingni Adit and Kundan Adit have been constructed. The tunnel has a ruling gradient of one in 80 and a designed speed of 100 kmph. According to the International standards, the Escape Tunnel being constructed parallel to the Main Tunnel is linked to the cross passages at an interval of 375m to enable rescue and restoration work. The NR commissioned construction work to IRCON International Ltd, which assigned work in two packages to HCC and AFCONS Infrastructure Limited. HCC is managing 5.1 km length work from South Portal, and AFCONS is executing 7.658 km length work from North Portal. The railways revealed that they encountered many challenges like highly jointed rock mass, shear zone, rock problems, and much more.The experienced team of engineers of Northern Railway, IRCON, and the executing agencies HCC and AFCONS successfully negotiated every difficulty and made it possible to accomplish this project. During the tunnel construction, the local population was also employed by the agencies for several works, which also helped the overall socio-economic landscape. Image Source Also read: MEIL makes major breakthrough in Zojila La tunnel project

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

AI: The New Recruit

From getting ideas to evaluating designs, presenting concepts to clients and tracking projects, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping architects work better and faster.“AI allows architects to spend more time doing what only they can do: think critically, synthesise complexity and design with intent,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects. “Every minute reclaimed from repetitive processes can be invested in creativity, contextual understanding, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – the qualities that define meaningful architecture.”To read the ..

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

Redevelopment 2.0

In 2017, Mumbai identified 160,000 ageing buildings due for structural audit. Close to half of these were in the Western Suburbs. Redeveloping the oldest and structurally weakest of these would help unlock new housing, much needed given the city’s growing population density and constant developed area of 437.7 sq km. At 30,600 people per sq km in 2024, Mumbai’s density was almost thrice that of Gurugram, and 60 per cent higher than Bengaluru’s.Essentially, Mumbai’s realty market has demand. It has capital. It has realty development potential.Fast forward to 2026. Mumbai has 1,094 regis..

Technology

30 Jul 2026

Cost intelligence will become a strategic contributor to project success

As India's construction industry accelerates its digital transformation, integrated platforms, AI and connected data are becoming essential to improving cost certainty, project efficiency and sustainability. Ravi Kumar, Sales Director – India, RIB Software India, shares how digital workflows are reshaping project planning, commercial management and decision-making across the construction value chain.India's construction sector is embracing digital technologies at an unprecedented pace. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts driving this transformation and how is RIB Software enab..