UDHAMPUR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday inaugurated the state-of-art Chenani-Nashri tunnel -- the longest in India -- and took a short walk and a jeep ride inside the tube.

  • The tunnel, that connects Udhampur and Ramban districts of Jammu and Kashmir, bypasses a dangerous hilly terrain of over 30 km of the strategic Jammu-Srinagar National Highway. The 10.98 km long tunnel built at a cost of over Rs 2,500 crore is situated at an altitude of 1,200 metres.

  • It has traffic and fire control systems, video surveillance, FM connectivity and transverse ventilation systems. In addition to saving nearly two hours of travel time, the passage of traffic through the tunnel will result in a daily saving of Rs 27 lakh in terms of fuel used by vehicles.

  • The tunnel, which took over five years to build, will also bypass some 44 avalanche - and landslide -prone spots on the nearly 300-km-long highway.

  • It is the India's first and the world's sixth tunnel to have transverse ventilation system, providing fresh air to passengers.


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  • Technologically, this is one of the most advanced road tunnels built in the country, surmounting challenges of terrain and distance.

  • "Its uniqueness is that it has an Integrated Tunnel System, under which all the systems such as Entrance Detection Control System, Electrical Fire Signalling System and Video Surveillance System and Evacuation Broadcast System, are controlled through one particular software," Ashutosh Chandwar, Vice President of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL &FS), said.

  • The Traffic Control System in the tunnel has green and red lights, the speed limit signs and others are variable signs depending upon the traffic condition inside the tunnel.

  • A unique feature of the tunnel is that at every 150 metres it has an emergency SOS box and a safety evacuation passage connecting to a safety tunnel constructed parallel to the main tunnel.

  • At every 75 metres there is a video surveillance monitor through which cameras will help in detection of any "suspicious acts" by anyone inside the tunnel.

  • The tunnel also has a special drainage system to flush out water flowing in from the mountains and to use it for fire fighting and construction activities.