The Indian Railways is constructing the World's first electrified double-stack container tunnel near Sohna, Haryana. With this development, a double-stack container goods train will be able to run at a speed of more than 100 km from within the tunnel.
As per the officials related to the project, the world’s first electrified rail tunnel fit to run double-stack containers will be operational in the WDFC (Western Dedicated Freight Corridor) in next 12 months. On July 24, 2020, two parts of this tunnel were added after a blast at the zero points of the tunnel-- Rewari-Dadri section-- completing the carving of the tunnel in less than a year.
TUNNEL BREAKING CEREMONY’ MARKS COMPLETION OF TUNNEL CAVING WORK AT WDFC’S 1 KM LONG TUNNEL THROUGH THE ARAVALLIS NEAR SOHNA IN HARYANA
— DFCCIL (@dfccil_india) July 24, 2020
This will be world first electrified Rail tunnel fit to run double stack containers. #Infra4India pic.twitter.com/DszeDrZTCY
About the Tunnel
The World's first electrified double-stack container tunnel is 1 km long and is situated at the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor near Sohna, Haryana. The tunnel connects two districts of Haryana-- Mewat and Gurgaon. It has a steep gradient on the uphill and downhill slope of the Aravalli range.
Stability of the Tunnel
To build the tunnel, the blast was needed through 2,500 to 500 million years old proterozoic rocks. Talking about stability, the tunnel is safe and stable as it is carved through the above-mentioned rocks. These are mainly quartize, schists and slates of Alwar/Azabgarh groups of Delhi subgroup rocks, having high bearing capacity.
The shape of the Tunnel
The tunnel is D-shaped and is the biggest tunnel in India (cross-sectional area). It has a cross-section of 150 sq. metres to allow double-stack container movement on WDFC.
Dimensions of the Tunnel
The dimensions of the tunnel are-- 14.5 m and 10.5 m in height in straight portion; 15 m and 12.5 m wide. It has 12.5 m height to provide extra clearance while negotiating the curve. The tunnel is India's first electrified tunnel and is based on the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM).
Tunnels in WDFC
On one end of the tunnel is near Rewari and is known as 'Portal-1' or 'West Portal' while on the other end of the tunnel is Dadri and is known as 'Portal-2' or 'East Portal'.
There are 3 tunnels in Western Dedicated Freight Corridor-- 1 km long Sohna Tunnel, the 320 m long Vasai Detour North Tunnel and the 430 m long Vasai Detour South Tunnel.
What is WDFC?
Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) is a broad gauge corridor, currently under construction. Once constructed, the tunnel will connect the National and Business Capitals of India-- New Delhi and Mumbai. It will cover a distance of 1,483 km of double-lane electric track from JNPT to Dadri via Vadodra, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Phulera and Rewari.
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