Abstract

This case is about the Indian Railways’ ambitious Kashmir Railway Project. This was one of its most important and difficult projects as it aimed to build a railroad connection through the Himalayan foothills linking Kashmir with the rest of India. The main objective of this project was to provide an alternative and more reliable mode of transportation system to the people of Kashmir than the existing mode of travel by road. Officially, this track was named as the Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla link (JUSBRL). The unique features of this line, according to observers, were the presence of a major earthquake zone, extreme environmental conditions in terms of temperature, and the most extreme geological profile throughout the entire terrain. Some experts lauded the Indian Railway’s initiatives and how it had overcome some of the challenges associated with the project and said that once accomplished it would be an engineering miracle. However, it was also criticized on many fronts and some experts believed that the project had been bungled at the planning stage itself.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand issues and challenges in executing a large infrastructure project by studying the ambitious Kashmir Railway Project which once accomplished would be an engineering miracle.
• Appreciate the difficulties before the project managers due to the fragile geology and steep topography - presence of a major earthquake zone, extreme environmental conditions in terms of temperature, etc.
• Appreciate the difficulties involved in the execution of large infrastructure projects in developing countries, and how these can be overcome

Keywords

Project management, Project development, Project execution, Idea generation, Planning, Concept development, System level design, Geological investigation, Earthquake zone, Extreme environmental condition, Extreme geological profile, Indian Railways