L&T lowest bidder for U?khand rail project

The order, worth Rs 3,338 crore, is a contract from Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL), whose financial bids concluded recently, as reported by sources.

The scope of this project includes:

• Completing the tunneling
  
• Construction shaft
  
• Ancillary work in the Himalayan region of Uttarakhand

This biggest tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be required to be deployed in the Himalayan geology. The TBM bored tunnel of 20.8 km is the maximum in any project in the Himalayan region.

The motive of providing a rail link between Rishikesh and Karnaprayag is to facilitate easy access to the pilgrimage center in Uttarakhand, connecting the new trade center, development of backward areas, and to serve the catchment population. The railway line goes through the rugged Himalayan terrain, with the alignment oriented across and sometimes sub-parallel to the major thrust zones of the Himalayas.

The company is already constructing the Rishikesh-Karnaprayag Tunnel 2 package by RVNL, comprising tunnels, bridges, and formation works.

This project which was won by the heavy civil infrastructure business of the company in December 2019, consists of a primary tunnel, along with a parallel escape tunnel and ballastless track running inside the main tunnel.

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