| Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel | |
| Line: | Jammu Tawi-Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link |
| Location: | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Status: | Active |
| Start: | Banihal |
| End: | Qazigund |
| Opened: | June 2013 |
| Owner: | Indian Railways |
| Operator: | Indian Railways |
| Traffic: | Train |
| Linelength: | 11.21km (06.97miles) |
| Notrack: | single track |
| Gauge: | (Broad gauge) |
| Speed: | up to 75km/h |
The Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel or Pir Panjal railway tunnel is an 11.215km (06.969miles) long railway tunnel located in Pir Panjal Range of middle Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, India, south of Qazigund town. It is a part of the Jammu–Baramulla line.
The north portal of the railway tunnel is at 33.5618°N 75.1989°W and its south portal is at 33.4632°N 75.194°W.
The average elevation of the railway tunnel is 1760m (5,770feet) or about 440m (1,440feet) below the existing road tunnel, the Jawahar Tunnel, which is at elevation of about 2194m (7,198feet).[1] The tunnel is wide with a height of . There is a 3m (10feet) road along the length of the tunnel for the maintenance of railway tracks and emergency relief. It takes approximately 9 minutes and 30 seconds for the train to pass through the tunnel.[2] [3]
For a short time, Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel was India's longest railway tunnel.[2] Once completed, the 11.55 km long rail tunnel between Senapati and Imphal West districts on Jiribam–Imphal line will surpass the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel as India's longest tunnel.[4]
The new Banihal-Qazigund tunnel for the Jammu–Baramulla line connecting Bichleri Valley of Banihal with Qazigund area of Kashmir Valley has been constructed as a part of its Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. The boring was completed in four years in October 2011, its lining and laying of rail tracks was completed in the next one year and trial run commenced on 28 December 2012. The tunnel was commissioned on 26 June 2013 and commercial runs started from 27 June 2013.
The rail tunnel reduces the distance between Quazigund and Banihal by (from by road to by train).[5] Banihal railway station is situated at 1702m (5,584feet) above mean sea level. The railway network in Kashmir from Banihal to Baramulla is now . Until the Katra-Banihal section of Jammu–Baramulla line gets constructed, people can travel from Jammu Tawi or Udhampur to Banihal by road and take the train from Banihal to Srinagar through the Banihal railway tunnel.