By Sujit Chakraborty Dec 5, 2008, Imphal/Agartala : India’s northeast region is 6th most earthquake-prone belt in the globe.The soil of the young Himalayan regions is fragile and the monsoon is extremely heavy, making it difficult to work.
These challenges aside, the Jiribam-Imphal railway line is building the world’s tallest railroad bridge in Manipurs Noney mountainous Valley.It is part of the 111km-long Jiribam Imphal new railway line.
The massive bridge, which is being built in Tamenglong in western Manipur, has been in construction since 2015.It is an integral part of the Rs 14,320 million broad gauge railway lines that will connect Imphal, the capital of Manipur, by December 2023.
Chief Engineer of Manipur Railway Projects, Sandeep Sharma, stated that the northeast region is 6th most earthquake-prone belt in the globe.The soil in the young Himalayan region’s weak soil is a reason for the shorter working season in the hilly regions.
Sharma said that despite many obstacles, challenges, and problems in transporting the construction material, about 60% of the work on the oversized bridge was completed and the entire project would be completed by August next year,” Sharma told IANS via phone.
He stated that the bridge was designed to withstand earthquakes and has been built taking into account the geography.
Expertise from IIT Kharagpur and international consultants has been used.For guidance, several expert committees were also formed.
The chief engineer stated that the Jiribam-Imphal railway line, which is 111 km long, will reduce travel time from the 10-12 hour current time to 2.5 hours.
After completion of the railway line (Jiribam–Imphal) by 2023 Manipur capital Imphal will be the fourth capital in the mountainous northeastern region.It joins Assam’s main capital of Guwahati, Tripura capital Agartala, and Arunachal Pradesh’s Naharlagun (adjacent capital city Itanagar).
The North-East Frontier Railways, (NFR), is laying tracks to connect capital cities of Mizoram and Nagaland.
As railway construction has not begun in these two northeastern states, there is no plan for the NFR when Meghalaya capital Shillong or Sikkim capital Gangtok will join the railway network.
Gunet Kaur, Chief Public Relations Officer at NFR, stated that eight new station buildings will be built, as well as 11 major bridges and 134 minor bridges.There will also be four road overbridges and 12 road underbridges.
The record-breaking length of more than 71,066 meters of tunnelling.
Another NFR official stated that all parties had discussed various issues relating to the timely completion of project.
According to the official, it is crucial that this project is completed on time in order to extend rail connectivity to Myanmar in future.This is in line with the “Act East Policy”, which was endorsed by the Indian government.
A senior engineer from the NFR (construction Wing) stated that a safety tunnel was constructed for safe evacuation of people in an emergency at tunnel number 12.This is significant because the section would have the highest bridge in the world as well as the longest railway tunnel.
He said that the completion of the project would expose Manipur’s rich culture to the world.
Tunnel number 12, measuring 11.55 km, is the longest railway tunnel in India.It is located on the Jiribam–Tupul–Imphal railway line.It is also longer than the Pir Panjal tunnel (8.5km) on Jammu-Kashmir’s Banihal–Qazigund railway line.
The estimated cost of construction of this tunnel, which is located in the western part the Imphal Valley and lies in the districts of Manipur, Senapati, and Imphal West, would be Rs 930 crore.
According to international technical specifications, a parallel safety tunnel measuring 9.35 km has been built for safe evacuation of people in an emergency at tunnel number 12.Cross passages will connect the main tunnel and parallel safety tube at every 500 meter.The safety tunnel cost Rs 368 crore,” said the engineer.
In 2008, the Jiribam-Tupul–Imphal broad gauge railway project became a priority and was designated a “National Project” due to its importance.
Around 140 years ago, the first train to the north-east region left the eastern Assam industrial city of Dibrugarh.
One of India’s 17 railway zones, the NFR, operates in six of India’s eight northeastern states.
It is not present in Meghalaya or Sikkim.It also operates in seven West Bengal districts and five north Bihar districts.
According to the NFR engineers, the railways have had to face diverse challenges in the northeastern region due to the changing landscape and soil conditions.
“The soil or earth-bearing potential of the northeastern area is much lower than other parts of the country.” The NFR engineer said that nothing was impossible for railway engineers.
Sujit Chakraborty may be reached at [email protected]
sc/bg #challenges #Manipur #Valley #worlds #tallest #railway
.
