Pre-Feasibility Study for New Rail Link from Havelian Station to Khunjerab (Pak-China Border)

Abstract

The reason of undertaking this project is to determine the feasibility of the railway track between Pakistan and China,since it’s the missing railway line between two countries and is of vital importance for China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).Railway line is not only necessity of an hour for the growing bilateral trade between the two countries but will also warrant an uninterrupted and continuous logistic support mechanism round the year for a division size force deployed in the region of Northern Areas. In view of above, the research was carried out to answer following questions: 1) Possible routes between Havelian and Khunjrabfor railway track.2) Analysis of all tentative routes 3) Selection of best route with relevant details of geography and topographic details Various possible routes were considered and worked upon.The natural topography and geological features were the main hurdles and obstacles in the project. Construction of tunnels was a pre-requisite for all the tracks. Moreover soil stabilization and various soil improvement methods were also required to be implemented for execution of the proposed project.`