Indian Railways is working on a mission mode to connect the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with the other parts of the country. The national transporter has commenced the preparatory works for laying of the Ballastless Track (BLT) on the Katra –Banihal section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project.
The BLT will be laid on the 30-km of the track in different stretches on the 111-km long stretch from Katra to Banihal. On Saturday (April 29, 2023), RN Sunker, Member, Infrastructure, Railway Board, inspected the ongoing developmental works in the prestigious USBRL project.
Sunker reviewed the work at Reasi station yard between Tunnel-3 and Tunnel-5. The Reasi yard is located on another mega Bridge number 39, which is a continuous composite steel girder of span 490 metres long and the Pier height varies from 35.08 m to 105 m and the tallest Pier P5 is 105 m high from the foundation level. Meanwhile, the laying of ballastless track in Bakkal to Dugga section has been completed. At present, the work of installation of Electro-Mechanical devices is in progress.
What is Ballastless Track?
The ballastless track is a type of railway track infrastructure in which the traditional elastic combination of ties, sleepers and ballast is replaced by a rigid construction of concrete or asphalt. It is also known as slab track.
The senior railway official also inspected the progress of Tunnel T-13, Bridge 60, and Tunnel T-14. The 9.3-km long Tunnel T-139 connects Dugga with Sawalkote station. Bridge- 60 is a 250m long bridge located in between Tunnel T-13 and T-14 accommodating platforms of Sawalakote station.
The 6.3 km long Tunnel T-14 is located in the Sawalkote-Sangaldan section. The 3,209 metres long Tunnel T-1 located in Katra-Reasi Section.
The senior Railway Board official also inspected the work of the country’s First cable-stayed bridge – the Anji Bridge. Recently, all 96 cables have been fully installed in a record time period of 11 months.