LAHORE - The Government of Balochistan has commissioned Pakistan Railways for undertaking feasibility for extending the purview of usage of the Khojak tunnel. The tunnel comes across the rail link between Quetta and Chaman, starting from Shelabagh point onwards to Chaman. As per the available details the feasibility study would look into the prospects of whether the current rail tunnel can be converted into a rail cum road tunnel, or there can be an alternate provision for a new road tunnel. The other proposal is to widen the upper limits of the tunnel to use it as rail tunnel able to have extra headroom for the provision of train movement with roll on, roll off easiness for tractors and counter mounted trucks.
The proposed financing of the cost of the project once okayed by the consultants inclusive of Pakistan Railways Advisory and Consulting Services (PRACS) would be borne by the Ministry of Communications and Works, Government of Balochistan with the Ministry of Railways, the federal government stakeholder.
Currently the road traffic from Quetta to Chaman inclusive of the trade merchandise as well as PSO oil tanker traffic from Pakistan to coalition forces in Kandahar passes through a longer route taking a diversion along the mountainous area where the tunnel is located. The tunnel is approximately 6,500 feet above the sea level.
The feasibility study is estimated to cost Rs 8 billion. The tunnel to be modified is one of the oldest rail tunnels currently used in Pakistan. It is approximately 12,870 feet long or equal to 3.9 kilometers. The work on that tunnel began in April 1888 and the project was completed by the then British Government in September 1891.
The tunnel is not completely straight and has been subject to complex engineering solutions to make it workable. The mountain, which is to be surveyed for the extension and customisation of the tunnel, has peculiar strata characteristics, which necessitate the usage of timber and wood to counter water seepage. At certain points there is gradual elevation and also downward slope.
From one point at Shelabagh in the tunnel, the track raises at the rate of one foot over the stretch of 100 feet. Likewise, the downward slant in the tunnel is one foot over the stretch of 40 feet. Keeping in view the complex geological nature of the area, the most important part of the survey, sources feel would be that of assessing the hydrological, geotechnical and environmental investigations of the tunnel under review.
The project has been developed to create a smooth freight cum passenger linkage between Quetta and Chaman without any additional time hassle. Keeping in view the ongoing extension of the Pakistan Railways linkage into Afghanistan upto Kandahar through SpinBoldak, the report of the consultants is sought by February 2006 in order to seek local or foreign funds components well before the finalisation of the budgetary grants for the Ministry of Railways in the Federal Budget 2006-07. If the operative costs of the restructuring of the tunnel do not turn out to be prohibitive, there are chances that the work on the main tunnel or similar tunnels alongside may commence during the 2006-07 fiscal period.
http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/nov-2005/22/bnews2.php
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