India’s longest rail tunnel has been officially opened by the country’s prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
The 11.2km Pir Panjal Tunnel, which has been built by Hindustan Construction Company (HCC), connects Kashmir Valley to Banihal town along the Kashmir Railway line.
HCC began excavation works in 2005 following the completion of the Dharam-Quazigund section.
Arun Karambelkar, president of HCC, said: “The tunnel has been constructed using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) and it is for the first time in the country that this method has been used on such a large scale.”
A test train travelled through the tunnel in December ahead of commissioning this week.
The new railway line will halve the current 35 km road journey between Banihal and Qazigund to under 18 km.
