While on a spree to take various innovative measures and establish various firsts, the Indian Railways is now looking at the creation of the world’s first electrified tunnel for double-stack containers.
The Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd (DFCCIL) was recently observed to be conducting a tunnel-breaking ceremony on Friday which was held on the completion of caving work for the one-kilometer long tunnel of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) through Aravalli mountain range, near Sohna in Haryana.
The tunnel is being created to connect the Mewat and Gurugram district of Haryana.
Made in a D-shape, the tunnel is recorded to have a cross-sectional area of 150 square meters which can easily accommodate double line with higher OHE (Over Head Equipment) enabling double-stack container movement on WDFC.
“Tunnel-breaking ceremony marks the completion of the tunnel caving work at the WDFC’s (Western Dedicated Freight Corridor) one-km-long tunnel through the Aravallis near Sohna in Haryana,” implementing agency of the project, the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) said, in a statement.
“This will be the world’s first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers. The last blasting of the tunnel, which is situated on the Rewari-Dadri section, was done today (Friday). This work has been completed in less than a year’s time,” it stated.
A spokesperson said they are looking to complete it in “the next 12 months”.
“Tunnelling work has been done systematically and in a planned manner from both the ends by deploying high-tech man and machinery. This is the reason behind completing the caving work in a record one-year time,” the DFCCIL said in the statement.