Question: Consider the following statements regarding the commissioning of longest electrified railway tunnel in India.
(1) The South Central Railway Zone has successfully commissioned the longest electrified tunnel. The 6.6 km long tunnel is situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru railway stations and is part of the new Obulavaripalli – Venkatachalam railway line.
(2) The tunnel will facilitate operating freight trains on Obulavaripalli -Venkatachalam – Krishnapatnam Port new railway line for a distance of 113 km.
Of the above, correct statement/s is/are:
(a) Only (1)
(b) Only (2)
(c) Both (1) and (2)
(d) None of the above
Answer: (c)
Related facts:
- The South Central Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh has successfully commissioned the longest electrified tunnel (6.6 kms) situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru railway stations. It is constructed in the shape of Horse Shoe.
- The tunnel is part of the new Obulavaripalli-Venkatachalam railway line (113 kms) and it has been completed in a record time of 43 months.
- On 25th June, 2019, two freight trains successfully ran between the two stations, marking the full-scale operation of the newly built electrified line, thereby opening up viable railway connectivity between Krishnapatnam Port and its hinterland areas for freight train services.
- Enabling Indian Railways to start freight operations on this crucial line, this has reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and its hinterland areas by 60 km.
- Height of tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5 meters and the minimum height of the contact wire is maintained at 5.2 mts.
- For construction of the tunnel, New Australian Tunneling Method (NATM) has been used and a cost Rs 460 crore has been incurred.
- For the first time in South Central Railway, instead of conventional type Auto Tensioning Device (ATD), Spring type ATD of South Korea has been adopted for maintaining necessary tension in OHE wires.
Links:
https://www.financialexpress.com/infrastructure/railways/indian-railways-builds-longest-electrified-tunnel-record-time-key-features-game-changing-project/1636209/
https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/scr-commissions-longest-electrified-tunnel/article28276234.ece
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/indias-longest-electrified-train-tunnel-in-vijayawada-now-ready-for-business/articleshow/70063507.cms