Railways constructing world's first electrified tunnel to run double-stack containers

New Delhi: Indian Railways is constructing the world's first electrified tunnel to run double-stack containers. The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) recently conducted a tunnel-breaking ceremony which marked the completion of caving work for the one-kilometre-long tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range, near Sohna in Haryana.

As per DFCCIL, this will be the world's first electrified Rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers. Geologically this tunnel is safe and stable as it is caved through 2,500 to 500 million-year-old Proterozoic Rocks mainly Quartzite, Schists and slates of Alwar/Azabgarh groups of Delhi Supergroup rocks which have high bearing capacity, DFCCIL said in a tweet.

The kilometre-long tunnel connects Mewat and Gurugram district of Haryana and negotiates a steep gradient on the uphill and downhill slope of the Aravalli range. This D-shaped tunnel has a cross-sectional area of 150 square metres in order to accommodate double line with higher OHE (Over Head Equipment) which will enable double-stack container movement on the corridor.

The tunnel is being made in order to negotiate the steep gradient on the UP and Downhill of Arawali in order to connect Mewat & Gurgaon district of Haryana, which are situated at a level difference of 70-80 meter along the proposed alignment of WDFC.

Note that the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor covers a distance of 1,504 km of double line electric (2 X 25 KV) track from JNPT to Dadri via Vadodara-Ahmedabad-Palanpur-Phulera-Rewari. Alignment has been generally kept parallel to existing lines except provision of detour at Diva, Surat, Ankleshwar, Bharuch, Vadodara, Anand, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Phulera and Rewari. The Western Corridor passes through 5 states- Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The Western DFC is proposed to join Eastern Corridor at Dadri. Junction Stations between the existing railway system and the Western DFC have been provided at Vasai Road, Kosad/Gothangam, Makarpura (Vadodara), Amli Road (Sabarmati), Palanpur, Marwar Jn., Phulera, Rewari and Pirthala Road. More than 300 kms of track completed from Rewari-Madar and trains are running on trial basis.