To boost rail connectivity in the North-Eastern states, Indian Railways is executing several projects in full swing in the region. Of these, the Jiribam – Imphal new line railway project is of immense importance. On completion of the track work, the capital city of Manipur will get connected to the rest of the country.
Presently, the construction of a new track between Jiribam and Imphal is at the final stage.
About Jiribam – Imphal new line railway project:-
The 110 km long Jiribam to Imphal new line railway project has 52 tunnels and bridges in tough terrains. Among the tunnels, tunnel number 12 is the longest tunnel of this project. It passes through the most complex geological condition having fragile soil type conditions. The 10.275 km long tunnel includes a 529 metre RCC Ramp with a parallel safety tunnel of length 8.30 km.
The construction work of the tunnel has been one of the most challenging jobs for the railway authorities. Considering the complex geological condition of Imphal valley, the North East Frontier Railway has adopted vertical shaft technology to build tunnels. Normally, this sort of technology was used in Metro projects but for the first time in the history of the zonal railway, the vertical shaft technology was followed.
Significance of Vertical Shaft Technology:-
The Vertical Shaft technology helps to reduce the construction time of balance tunnelling stretch and thereby expedites the progress of the tunnel work. All the tunneling activities will be done through a vertical shaft with the help of a Gantry Crane and other modern machinery.
Laying of tracks in FY 2023-24
In FY 2023-24, the Ministry of Railways is also focusing to boost connectivity to the remotest part of the country. For this, the laying of the track is most important. The ministry has set a target to lay tracks for a distance of 7,000 km in the next fiscal. This includes new lines, doubling, tripling, gauge conversion, etc.