BILASPUR-MANALI-LEH RAILWAY PROJECT

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Is the consultant alone responsible for this bad alignment?

“Char Dham Railway project as part of DPR is probably the worst alignment so far”

Alok Kumar Verma, IRSE (Rtd)

The alignment prepared for the Char Dham Railway as part of DPR is probably the worst alignment so far in my opinion. Please read in my post in the link below. This alignment has been prepared by a foreign consultant.

But is the consultant alone responsible for this bad alignment? I doubt it: Precisely because a flat ruling gradient of 1 in 100 was imposed on the consultant. A flat gradient can never give a workable alignment in the terrain of Char Dham.

I don’t know what other constraints were imposed on the consultant.

In 2009 when Ravindra Committee was examining the realignment plan prepared by the foreign consultant for the Kashmir Rail Link Project.

The consultant clearly said that “he could have given a better alignment if he had the freedom to adopt gradient steeper than 1 in 60.”

As the alignment review was scuttled, two Members of Rly Board arbitrarily reduced ruling gradient to 1 in 80.

The consultant had to then prepare another realignment plan with 1 in 80 gradient, which Railway Board approved.

This is the alignment on which work is going on at present.

In its judgment of 01.09.1.2010, Delhi High Court held that the review of alignment was scuttled with the result that the alternative alignment which I had submitted was not considered for the line.

The Court passed strictures against the aforesaid Railway Board Members saying that they abused their power and acted in self interest.

Anyone can read about it more in my post in the link below –

#Kashmir_rail_link #Ruling_Gradient