NEW DELHI: In a bid to streamline infrastructure development and reduce costs, the Union government has set up a Joint Working Group (JWG) to assess the feasibility of combined rail and road tunnels during the early planning stages of projects.The JWG, comprising officials from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Ministry of Railways (MoR), and relevant executing agencies such as NHAI or NHIDCL, will coordinate integrated planning for infrastructure projects where rail and road alignments either overlap or run parallel.The group’s recommendations, focusing on technical, financial, and safety feasibility, will be submitted with alignment reports for final approval by the competent authority.According to senior officials, combined rail-road tunnels can significantly reduce environmental disruption, cut land acquisition and construction costs, and enable better use of underground space, especially in densely populated and geographically challenging regions.The panel will also evaluate construction and lifecycle costs, tunnel alignment and gradient, operational safety protocols, and evacuation mechanisms. It aims to eliminate redundant tunneling efforts and promote the use of common rights of way (ROW) for both rail and road infrastructure.The JWG will include a chief engineer-level official nominated by Indian Railways, the regional officer of MoRTH or its agencies, the relevant divisional railway engineer, and the project director from the highway ministry. A formal coordination mechanism has already been outlined based on project types.“The JWG will focus on integrating road and rail alignments and exploring the economic and technical viability of joint tunnels, including shared evacuation systems,” the ministry said in an official note to the stakeholders.
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