IRCON has achieved breakthrough of the Escape Tunnel in J&K
New Delhi, 16th December, 2022: Ircon International Limited (IRCON), a Miniratna (Category-I) Schedule -A, Public Sector Enterprises, has completed significant milestone in T-49 of the USBRL line in Jammu & Kashmir with the excavation breakthrough of the Escape Tunnel on 15th December, 2022. This is the longest railway tunnel of 12.76 km in India connecting Sumber Station (at 1418m MSL) & Arpinchala Station (at 1562m MSL).
The difficult geological conditions encountered during the excavation of 1500 m long stretch were high deformation/squeezing phenomenon causing local minor collapses, support damage etc., The Tunnel was excavated in the most difficult and challenging formations of the Himalayan range comprising essentially of tectonized metamorphic formations of carbonaceous phyllites, quartzitic phyllites and gneiss, under a maximum overburden of 1000 meters.
This tunnel will be equipped with a mechanical longitudinal ventilation system (consisting of jet fans) in the main tunnel. The Escape tunnel will be equipped with air lock system (consisting of jet fans) to keep rescue passages free from smoke in case of fire. For normal operation the ventilation system of the main tunnel will be controlled by air quality measurement system (CO, NO, NO2 & particles). In case of fire in main tunnel, the detection system will identify the accident location and start automatically as per the different fire programs in the tunnel monitoring and control system (SCADA).
Pic Source: dentsu.com
