The Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel or Pir Panjal railway tunnel is an long railway tunnel located in

Pir Panjal Range The Pir Panjal Range ( ; ) is a range of mountains in the Lower Himalayan region located in the Western Himalayas of northern Indian subcontinent. It runs southeast to northwest between the Beas and Neelam/Kishanganga rivers, in the Indi ...

of middle

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

in Jammu and Kashmir,

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, south of

Qazigund Qazigund (, ), also known as Gateway Of Kashmir, is a town and in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. Qazigund is located at . It has an average elevation of 1670 m (5478 feet) above mean sea level. Due to its geogra ...

town. It is a part of the

Jammu–Baramulla line The Jammu–Baramulla line, including the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) subsection, is a 324 km long railway track between the cities of Jammu and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir India. It is fully operational as of Jun ...

. The north portal of the railway tunnel is at and its south portal is at .

Length and elevation

The average elevation of the railway tunnel is or about below the existing road tunnel, the

Jawahar Tunnel Jawahar Tunnel, also called Banihal Tunnel is a road tunnel at elevation of in union territory of Jammu and Kashmir in India below the Banihal Pass in the Pir Panjal mountain range in lower Himalayas. It was named after Jawaharlal Nehru, t ...

, which is at elevation of about . The tunnel is wide with a height of . There is a road along the length of the tunnel for the maintenance of railway tracks and emergency relief. It takes approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds for the train to pass through the tunnel. For a short time, Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel was India's longest railway tunnel. Once completed, the 11.55 km long rail tunnel between

Senapati Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", ''Pati (title), pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of general (military), General. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha Empire. During wartime, a ''Sar ...

and

Imphal West Imphal West district ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈɪmfəl or ɪmˈfɑːl/) is one of the sixteen districts of Manipur state in northeastern India. As of 2011, it is the most populous district in the state. Geography Lamphelpat city is the administ ...

districts on

Jiribam–Imphal line Imphal Railway station is an under-construction railway station in Imphal in Manipur, India. Facilities The station will have two Side platform, side-platforms. Rail lines Trans-Asian Railway Partially-complete Trans-Asian Railway (TAR) ...

will surpass the ''Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel'' as India's longest tunnel.Imphal, 4th capital city in NE, to come on railway map within 27 months
Assam Tribune, 13 Sep 2021.

Progress of the project

The new

Banihal Banihal is a town and a notified area committee, near Ramban town in Ramban district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a rural and hilly area with Kamirwah being one of the most prominent hills. It is located about ...

tunnel for the

connecting Bichleri Valley of Banihal with Qazigund area of

Kashmir Valley The Kashmir Valley, also known as the Vale of Kashmir, is an intermontane valley in northern Jammu and Kashmir, a region in Indian-administered Kashmir.(a) (subscription required) Quote: "Kashmir, region of the northwestern Indian subcont ...

has been constructed as a part of its

Udhampur Udhampur (ˌʊd̪ʱəmpur) is a city and a municipal council in Udhampur district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters of Udhampur District. Named after Raja Udham Singh, it serves as the district capit ...

Srinagar Srinagar (; ) is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute is supported by the tertiary ...

Baramulla Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a city and municipality of the Baramulla district of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various r ...

rail link project. The boring was completed in four years in October 2011, its lining and laying of rail tracks was completed in the next one year and trial run commenced on 28 December 2012. The tunnel was commissioned on 26 June 2013 and commercial runs started from 27 June 2013. The rail tunnel reduces the distance between Quazigund and Banihal by (from by road to by train). Banihal railway station is situated at above mean sea level. The railway network in Kashmir from Banihal to

is now . Until the Katra-Banihal section of Jammu–Baramulla line gets constructed, people can travel from

Jammu Tawi Jammu Tawi railway station (station code: JAT) is a railway station in the city of Jammu in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Background Jammu Tawi is the largest railway station in Jammu and Kashmir. It is a major railhead f ...

to Banihal by road and take the train from Banihal to Srinagar through the Banihal railway tunnel.

Gallery

File:KashmirVale.jpg, View towards the massive

Pir Panjal range The Pir Panjal Range ( ; ) is a range of mountains in the Lower Himalayan region located in the Western Himalayas of northern Indian subcontinent. It runs southeast to northwest between the Beas and Neelam/Kishanganga rivers, in the Indi ...

the Railway line passes through it.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel T80 By N.A.T.M
at IRICEN Railway tunnels in India Buildings and structures in Jammu and Kashmir Rail transport in Jammu and Kashmir * 2011 establishments in Jammu and Kashmir Ramban district Tunnels completed in 2013

Length and elevation

Progress of the project

Gallery

See also

References

External links