The Modi Cabinet on Saturday (February 14) approved the construction of a rail and road tunnel between Gohpur and Numaligarh under the Brahmaputra river in Assam. With the construction of this underwater twin-tube road tunnel, the distance of 240 km will be reduced to only 34 km. A 15.8 km long tunnel will be built under the Brahmaputra river. This is the country’s first twin-tube underwater tunnel. Both vehicles and trains will be able to run through this tunnel. This will make it easier to transport troops and ammunition quickly in an emergency. A tube will have a single rail track.
What will be the design of the tunnel?
According to experts, it will be designed in such a way that no vehicle will be able to move when trains pass through it. It will have ballistic track and the trains will run on electricity. The entire 33.7 km project including tunnel, approach road and railway track will cost approximately ₹18,600 crore. Road Transport, Railways and Defense Ministry will jointly fund this project.
The journey which earlier took hours will now take only a few minutes
These tunnels will be two one-way, two-lane and will be built 32 meters below the deepest surface of the Brahmaputra. This project is expected to be completed in five years. After completion, the travel time between Gohpur and Numaligarh will reduce from six and a half hours to just 34 minutes. With this the distance will reduce from 240 kilometers to just 34 kilometers.
A big gift to the Northeast
With the construction of this underwater tunnel, connectivity with Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and other states of the Northeast will be improved. Last year, the Finance Ministry had approved the tunnel, which is expected to cost around ₹14,900 crore, with a funding ratio of 80:20 between the Road Transport Ministry and the Defense Ministry.