On February 15, 2022, Indian Railways connected the main and longest tunnel of T-49, under the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.

Key Points

• The T-49 tunnel is in between Sumber and Arpinchala station of Katra-Banihal section of USBRL project.
• It is a 12.758-Km-long tunnel.
• It is going to be longest tunnel of Indian Railway.
• It has surpassed Peer Panjal Tunnel of 11.2 Km length, which was constructed by USBRL on Banihal-Qazigund section.

South and North Portal of the tunnel

• South portal of Tunnel T-49 is located in Sumber Village. It is at a distance of 45-km from District HQ Ramban. It has been constructed at an altitude of 1,400 meters.
• While North Portal of the tunnel is located near Arpinchala village Tehsil Khari, at an altitude of 1600 meters, in Mahu-Mangat Valley.

Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project

The T-49 tunnel is part of larger 272-km-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link (USBRL) project. It would connect the valley to the rest of India. It provides an alternate surface link to the Union territory. Out of 272-km stretch, work of 161-km has been commissioned and operationalized. Work on stretch of 111-km between Katra & Banihal is under progress.

Cost of the project

The project is being erected at a cost of Rs 28,000 crore.

India’s first ever cable-stayed rail bridge

Ministry of Railways also shared pictures of India’s first ever cable-stayed rail bridge. This bridge is a part of the project. It is situated over Anji river and is dubbed as Anji Khad Bridge. It will connect Katra and Reasi Section, which is a part of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway link.