Rimutaka Tunnel The first shot was fired in 1948 when the Public Works Department started the tunnel with bores of at the western end and at the eastern end. A contract for completing the tunnel was let to a consortium of Morrison Knudsen Inc. and Downer and Company on 7 May 1951. The work commenced at the west end in July 1951 and at the east end in August. The contract was expected to be completed in four years, but the headings met on 20 April 1954 with the concrete lining finished a month later. New Zealand Railways took possession of the
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel The Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel or Banihal railway tunnel is an 11.215 km (7 mile) railway tunnel located in Pir Panjal Range of middle Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir, India, north of Banihal town. It is a part of the Jammu–Baramulla line. The north portal of the railway tunnel is at and its south portal is at . The average elevation of the 11.215 km long railway tunnel is or about below the existing road tunnel, the Jawahar Tunnel, which is at elevation of about . The tunnel is 8.40 m wide with a height of