Keylong to be country's first railway station inside tunnel

For the first time in India, a railway station will be built inside a tunnel at a height of 3,000 metre, on the strategic Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line close to the Sino-India border.

• While many metro stations in Delhi and other cities are inside tunnels, once completed, the Keylong station in Himachal Pradesh will be the first on the railway network to be inside a tunnel. Keylong is the administrative centre of Lahaul and Spiti district, 26 km north of Manali and 120 km from the Indo-Tibetan border.
• The Keylong station, in the project, will be inside the tunnel according to the first phase of the location survey. This will be the first such railway station in the country. As and when the final surveys are completed, there could be many such stations on the route.
• The line once completed will connect all important locations between Bilaspur and Leh like Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu and other towns of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. It is important because of its proximity to the Sino-India border and can facilitate in movement of goods and personnel to the frontier areas.
• The project will include 74 tunnels, 124 major bridges and 396 minor bridges, according to the first phase of the survey.
• Once finished, the line will half the duration taken to cover the distance between Delhi and Leh, from 40 hours to 20 hours. The final location survey is expected to be completed in 30 months, after which a detailed project report will be finalised.

About Keylong Distt. :

Kyelang (or Keylong) is the administrative centre of the Lahaul and Spiti district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, 126 km (78 mi) north of Manali and 120 km (75 mi) from the Indo-Tibetan border. It is located along the Manali-Leh Highway, about 7 km (4.3 mi) north-east of intersection of the Chandra Valley, the Bhaga Valley, and the Chenab Valley, on the banks of Bhaga River.

Sights and festivals :

Kyelang faces the famous Kardang Monastery, the largest and most important monastery in Lahaul, of the Drukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which is on a slope across the river from Keylong.

Sights near Kyelang include the Kardang, Shasur, and Tayul monasteries, all within a few kilometres of Kyelang. There is also a small temple dedicated to the local deity Kelang Wazir in the house of Shri Nawang Dorje that may be visited upon arrangement.

The annual Lahaul Festival is held here each July with a big, busy market and a number of cultural activities.

Rohtang tunnel

Due to the military significance of Leh-Manali highway and the need to keep it open the entire year, the Indian government began building the $320 million 8.5 km (5.3 mi) long horseshoe shaped Rohtang Tunnel project in 2010 to bypass Rohtang pass to create a much safer and faster year-round link to Kyelang. The tunnel will also shorten the distance by about 50 km (31 mi) and reduce the travel time between the southern and northern faces of Rohtang pass by five hours. While it now takes 4 to 6 hours to ascend, negotiate and descend the Rohtang pass, it will take only about 30 minutes to travel through the Rohtang tunnel.