Jiribam-Imphal Railway Line: Excavation Work of Longest Tunnel Completed

The Jiribam-Imphal railway line's tunnel-12 excavation work has been successfully finished, according to a statement from the Northeast Frontier Railway (Construction) on Wednesday. It was also stated that by March the last small tunnels will be finished.

The tunnel-12 is the longest tunnel on the Northeast Frontier Railway, measuring a total of 10.275km with a companion safety tunnel of 8.30km on the new Jiribam-Imphal railway line. According to NF Railway Chief Engineer (NF-7) Vikas Gupta, the project cannot be finished without the completion of tunnel-12 since it runs through the most difficult geological layers.  Furthermore, the completion of the Tupul-Imphal stretch depends on the tunnel-12, which connects the highlands to the valley of Imphal.

He also added that, “The railway is working 24X7 for the completion of work while facing all the challenges of heavy rainfall and other hindrances”. “The ongoing tunnel construction is being accomplished by cutting through fragile and soil type strata. The attendant challenges are being tackled on a daily basis through strict 3D monitoring and proactive application of desired tunnel support systems in accordance with the New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM)”.

He affirmed that the last small tunnels would be finished by March and thanked the state government and all other officials for giving the essential assistance for reaching the important goal.

"The currently under construction tunnel is being built by cutting through delicate soil-like layers. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM) is being used to proactively apply the desired tunnel support systems while strictly monitoring tunnel conditions in three dimensions, he continued.