First in India: Chenani-Nashri tunnel in J-K to provide fresh air to commuters

The Chenani-Nashri tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate to the nation on Sunday, is India’s first and the world’s sixth tunnel to have transverse ventilation system, providing fresh air to passengers.

“This tunnel is the India’s first and the world’s sixth road tunnel with a transverse ventilation system enabled by ABB drives and controlled by ABB software,” an official of the ABB said on the eve of inauguration of the 9-km-long tunnel.

ABB is a global leader in industrial technology and operates in approximately 100 countries, including India, according to its official website.

Location of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel. (PTI)

The official said ventilation systems, for such long tunnels, are essential to maintain clean air, permissible carbon dioxide levels and expel harmful vehicle emissions.

“To ensure smooth travel and safety of commuters, the ABB has designed, engineered and supplied low harmonics variable speed drive (VSD) system for tunnel ventilation,” he said.

The VSDs and motors are installed at the North (Nashri) and South (Chenani) portals for air supply and exhaust.

“These VSDs are also equipped with inbuilt redundancy to ensure minimum downtime,” the official added.

The tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs 2,519 crore, will reduce the distance between Jammu and Srinagar -- the twin state capitals -- by 30 km, while ensuring safe and swift passage for commuters, even in adverse weather conditions.

The ventilation system in the Chenani-Nashri tunnel, the longest highway tunnel in Asia, will ensure that passengers have access to fresh air as they drive through it, he said.

“This is a proud moment for us. We are providing the muscles and lungs for this critical new tunnel,” said Sanjeev Sharma, CEO and managing director of ABB India.

The Chenani-Nashri tunnel’s safety controls were developed by ABB in India, for effectively mitigating any fire emergencies, he said.

The tunnel, at an altitude of 1,200 metres, is a part of the National Highway Authority of India’s (NHAI) project between Jammu and Srinagar, along national highway 44.

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

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Imran Beigh, a 36-year-old Jammu-based budding infrastructure businessman, and his team built half of the 9.2-km Nashri tunnel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway in a short span of two years.

* The Union Minister of State in PMO Jitendra Singh has said the tunnel will save fuel worth nearly Rs 99 crores a year i.e, fuel worth Rs 27 lakh is likely to be saved per day.

*The tunnel will reduce the travel time between the two state capitals of Jammu and Srinagar by two hours. The distance from Chenani and Nashri will now be 10.9 km (between two ends of the tunnel), instead of the existing 41 km.

*The tunnel, constructed at a cost of Rs. 2,519 crore, will ensure a safe and swift passage for commuters, even in adverse weather conditions.

*The Chenani-Nashri tunnel is among the longest highway tunnels in Asia.

*The Chenani-Nashri tunnel is India's first and the world's sixth tunnel to have transverse ventilation system, providing fresh air to passengers.

*The ventilation system of this tunnel is enabled by ABB drives and controlled by ABB software. ABB is the global leader in industrial technology and operates in approximately 100 countries, including India, according to its official website.

*The tunnel, at an altitude of 1,200 meters, is a part of National Highway Authority of India's (NHAI's) project between Jammu and Srinagar, along the National Highway 44.

*The two tubes of the tunnel are internally connected through 29 cross-passages (each after a gap of 300 meters) and the escape tunnel will be used exclusively by pedestrians.

*A control room will monitor the movement of the vehicles and come to immediate rescue in case of emergency.