Leh rail track survey from tomorrow

New Delhi, June 25

The Railways will kick off the final location survey of the 498-km-long Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line at Leh in Jammu and Kashmir this week.

At 3,300 metres, the strategically important rail project is touted to become the highest rail track in the world, overtaking China’s Qinghai-Tibet Railway.

The all-weather Leh rail network is one of the four important railway connectivities identified by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) along the China border.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will inaugurate the work for the final location survey on June 27 at an estimated cost of Rs 157.77 crore. The survey is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The proposed new rail line will connect all important locations between Bilaspur and Leh. They include Sunder Nagar Mandi, Manali, Tandi, Keylong, Koksar, Darcha, Upshi and Karu.

The final location survey has been entrusted to RITES, a Railways PSU.

“RITES has deployed its team of experts to carry out this challenging task. The survey will be carried out in three phases and is slated to be completed by 2019,” said a senior Railway Ministry official. Presently, the road route is open only for about five months in a year.

The MoD had initiated rail line projects along China, Nepal and Pakistan borders as strategic lines. Fourteen strategic lines have been identified, out of which four — Bilaspur-Manali-Leh, Missamari-Tenga-Tawang, North Lakhimpur-Bame-Silapathar and Pasighat-Tezu-Rupai — will be taken up in thefirst phase. — PTI