NATM experience in Pir Panjal rail tunnel Aishwarya Kumar, Bhanu Prakash & Yogesh Velapure IRCON International

Ltd., J&K, India SYNOPSIS: Construction of Udhampur Srinagar - Baramulla Broad Gauge Rail Link Project is being undertaken by Indian Railway to establish a dependable means of transport in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and to connect it with rest of India. This will be an all weather route to the Kashmir valley. The Rail Link passes through Himalayas traversing 101 major bridges and 80 tunnels with 110 km of tunnelling. For expediting the construction of project, the Rail link has been given in parts to two PSU for execution under Ministry of Railway namely M/s IRCON International Ltd and Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. Pir Panjal Rail Tunnel with a length of 10.960 km passes through Pir Panjal range of Himalayas and is being constructed by M/s IRCON International Ltd as part of this Project. The Tunnel construction schedule necessitated construction of Access Tunnel and Shaft for creating additional faces for Tunnel excavation. The paper deals with excavation of Tunnel using New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM), problems faced and the manner in which the same were solved. It highlights the role of Geotechnical investigation, advance planning, and selection of Construction Method. Typical problems of Tunnelling in Himalayan region i.e. complex and rapidly changing Geology and Soft Ground Tunnelling are also dealt with in this paper. The alignment passes under village structures at low overburden on the South end. The measures adopted and precautions taken are also discussed in this paper. 1. INTRODUCTION National Highway NH1A is the only link between Jammu and Srinagar, the winter and summer capital of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The Highway remains closed frequently during snow season and in rainy season due to land slides. Construction of Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL Project) has been under taken by Indian Railways to establish dependable means of transport in Jammu & Kashmir and also with rest of the country. Indian Railway has entrusted 70km of section on Udhampur side to M/s Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. and 191km on Baramulla side to M/s IRCON International Limited for execution. 172 km length of alignment passes through many deep valleys, gorges, steep mountains and crosses Pir-Panjal range of Himalayas necessitating 10.960 Km long Pir Panjal Tunnel. This is presently the longest transportation tunnel under construction in India. Further IRCON has contracted the construction work of Pir Panjal tunnel to M/s Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd. The estimated construction cost is US $150 million.

2. CONSTRUCTION METHOD Himalayan Geology is very complex and rapidly changing. Folding and faulting is common in the area. The proposed construction method had to deal with varying ground conditions, high over burden and large deformations. The complexity of the geology and limited geotechnical information available under high overburden (1200 m) areas did not encourage use of TBM. Also the previous experience of using TBM in the Himalayas at some of the Hydroelectric project was not encouraging. This necessitated use of the sequential excavation method and support techniques known as New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM). This tunnelling method (NATM) has the implications for construction management and the role of designer during construction to reduce risk for completion of the Tunnel. It is also important to have a designer on site because NATM is basically an observational method. The role of Construction Consultant and Designer during construction is very important for timely and economical completion of the tunnel. The Detailed Design consultancy contract has been awarded to joint venture of M/s. W