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A rail link in the Indus Plains in Ladakh, similar to the Kashmir Railway, will have spin-offs for environment conservation, military logistics, tourism and the local economy
After the Banihal-Baramulla railway, the Indian Railways should now plan to build a line in the plains of Ladakh along the Indus river. Its alignment could be from Batalik-Khalatse-Leh-Karu to Chushul. The stretch, of approximately 500 kilometres, is plain, interspersed with populated and fertile regions and is along an arterial road in Ladakh, from Batalik to Chushul.
We propose this idea inspired by the popular, standalone 119 km Baramullah-Qazigund railwayline in the Kashmir Valley, inoperation since October 2009. With the recent inauguration of the 11 km Qazigund-Banihal tunnel by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, the Kashmir Railway will now extend from Baramulla to Banihal. The railway tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs.1172 crore, will be operational round the year unlike the Jawahar Road tunnel which closes during heavy snowfall for a few days. This railway line is a popular all-weather mode of transportation for passenger and freight in the valley, evident from thefact that there have been no threats by insurgents to this service. It is run by a 1,400 HP diesel engine with a heating system for quick and trouble free service in winter.The Qazigund-Banihal section does not connect the Kashmir Valley with the national network of the Indian Railways. It is only an internal rail point of Kashmir touching Banihal which is a part ofthe Jammu region.
Strategic lines
The importance of all-weather connectivity by rail to remote regions has been recognised by the Government of India not only as a strategic necessity but also as a more economical modeof transport for development. It has so far accepted 11 national railway projects to enable greater integration of remote regions with the rest of India. One of them is the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramullah stretch. The construction of a290 km-long railway line with a budget of Rs.19,565 crore is to be completed by December 2017.
Green project
Approximately one-third of the work has been completed which includes Banihal to Baramullah. The remaining work, from Udhampur to Banihal, is one ofthe greatest engineering challenges in theworld and acrossthe mighty Pir Panjal range. Perhaps the only system it can be compared with isthe Qinghai-Tibet Railway connecting Golmund to Lhasa, which has been in service from July 1, 2006.
In addition, somemore strategic projects are in the pipeline. These include a major 500 km-long Srinagar-Kargil-Leh line. The Railway Budget of 2013-14 includes a survey for this project. This would again be agreat engineering featover the Zanskar mountains and a part of the GreatHimalayan Range.
A railway line along the Indus in the Ladakh plains, similar to the Banihal-Baramullah railway in the Valley, would in comparison be a low cost project. The alignment suggested is from Batalik, 40 km north east ofKargil along the northern bank ofthe Indus, to Loma Bend-Khalatse, to Ladakh¡¯s capital, Leh, which is also a military base, to Karu-Upashi, another military base. From here, it can connect to another proposed line from Manali (the Rs.22,831 crore Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line is understood to be under consideration by the Planning Commission). Here, the line would leave the Indus and move northeast towards Pangong Tso/Chushul. The route, of approximately 500 km, is plain; it needs no tunnelling and the construction of very few bridges. It is a cost-effective proposal and would be of immense help to the people of Ladakh, in the same way the Banihal to Baramullah link is to the people of the Valley. It can be constructed in a few years while the mega projects to connect these regions with the rest of the country take shape. There arealready audit and seismic issues on these mega projects.
Environmentally speaking, this project will also be a clean one, as it will provide a green alternative in the Ladakh desert to the hundreds of military and civil vehicles which ply everyday on the Battalik-Leh-Karu-Chushul artery. It will save millions of barrels of fuel, which, when transported to Ladakh now ends up becoming even more expensive. The Army always prefers rail transportation as a quicker and cheaper mode of transport for troops and material. The suggested 500 km of alignment is all along army bases. The recent incident at Depsang highlighted the lack of good roads in Ladakh; an Indus Valley Railway may help in improving infrastructure at a low cost.
A train journey worth making - The Hindu
After the Banihal-Baramulla railway, the Indian Railways should now plan to build a line in the plains of Ladakh along the Indus river. Its alignment could be from Batalik-Khalatse-Leh-Karu to Chushul. The stretch, of approximately 500 kilometres, is plain, interspersed with populated and fertile regions and is along an arterial road in Ladakh, from Batalik to Chushul.
We propose this idea inspired by the popular, standalone 119 km Baramullah-Qazigund railwayline in the Kashmir Valley, inoperation since October 2009. With the recent inauguration of the 11 km Qazigund-Banihal tunnel by Prime MinisterManmohan Singh, the Kashmir Railway will now extend from Baramulla to Banihal. The railway tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs.1172 crore, will be operational round the year unlike the Jawahar Road tunnel which closes during heavy snowfall for a few days. This railway line is a popular all-weather mode of transportation for passenger and freight in the valley, evident from thefact that there have been no threats by insurgents to this service. It is run by a 1,400 HP diesel engine with a heating system for quick and trouble free service in winter.The Qazigund-Banihal section does not connect the Kashmir Valley with the national network of the Indian Railways. It is only an internal rail point of Kashmir touching Banihal which is a part ofthe Jammu region.
Strategic lines
The importance of all-weather connectivity by rail to remote regions has been recognised by the Government of India not only as a strategic necessity but also as a more economical modeof transport for development. It has so far accepted 11 national railway projects to enable greater integration of remote regions with the rest of India. One of them is the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramullah stretch. The construction of a290 km-long railway line with a budget of Rs.19,565 crore is to be completed by December 2017.
Green project
Approximately one-third of the work has been completed which includes Banihal to Baramullah. The remaining work, from Udhampur to Banihal, is one ofthe greatest engineering challenges in theworld and acrossthe mighty Pir Panjal range. Perhaps the only system it can be compared with isthe Qinghai-Tibet Railway connecting Golmund to Lhasa, which has been in service from July 1, 2006.
In addition, somemore strategic projects are in the pipeline. These include a major 500 km-long Srinagar-Kargil-Leh line. The Railway Budget of 2013-14 includes a survey for this project. This would again be agreat engineering featover the Zanskar mountains and a part of the GreatHimalayan Range.
A railway line along the Indus in the Ladakh plains, similar to the Banihal-Baramullah railway in the Valley, would in comparison be a low cost project. The alignment suggested is from Batalik, 40 km north east ofKargil along the northern bank ofthe Indus, to Loma Bend-Khalatse, to Ladakh¡¯s capital, Leh, which is also a military base, to Karu-Upashi, another military base. From here, it can connect to another proposed line from Manali (the Rs.22,831 crore Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line is understood to be under consideration by the Planning Commission). Here, the line would leave the Indus and move northeast towards Pangong Tso/Chushul. The route, of approximately 500 km, is plain; it needs no tunnelling and the construction of very few bridges. It is a cost-effective proposal and would be of immense help to the people of Ladakh, in the same way the Banihal to Baramullah link is to the people of the Valley. It can be constructed in a few years while the mega projects to connect these regions with the rest of the country take shape. There arealready audit and seismic issues on these mega projects.
Environmentally speaking, this project will also be a clean one, as it will provide a green alternative in the Ladakh desert to the hundreds of military and civil vehicles which ply everyday on the Battalik-Leh-Karu-Chushul artery. It will save millions of barrels of fuel, which, when transported to Ladakh now ends up becoming even more expensive. The Army always prefers rail transportation as a quicker and cheaper mode of transport for troops and material. The suggested 500 km of alignment is all along army bases. The recent incident at Depsang highlighted the lack of good roads in Ladakh; an Indus Valley Railway may help in improving infrastructure at a low cost.
A train journey worth making - The Hindu
