Indian Railways is all set to run as many as five trains from the national capital, which will connect the Kashmir region through the Himalayas with the rest of the country, ending a nearly three-decade wait for the project to be sanctioned.
A senior railway ministry official said these sleeper AC trains will be equipped with heating facilities inside the coaches, as part of the route will pass through snow-covered areas. Keeping in view the security concerns in Jammu and Kashmir, there will be increased security checks for these services.
“Construction of these five rakes has been completed and the train is ready for operation. It may start in the first month of next year, not all five at the same time. It will have 22-coaches each. As of now, there are no plans to run Vande Bharat sleeper trains from Delhi. However, an eight-coach Vande Bharat train, with chair car seats, will run on the Katra to Baramulla stretch (about 250 km) on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL), “running on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) The senior official said, “Those who don’t want to do it. to be identified.
The wheels of the coach and the glass in front of the engine are designed to prevent snow accumulation, the official said. In addition, on-board heating will ensure defrosting of any snow accumulation in sub-zero temperatures.
“Special emphasis has been laid on safety of trains. Coaches will be sanitized before leaving both sides of the platform. Passengers for Srinagar go through a special security check similar to the security check at the airport. There will be more Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel as compared to regular route trains. Security concerns cannot be ignored,” said the official quoted above.
However, the decision to run trains depends on the permission of the Commission for Railway Safety (CRS). The Katra to Reasi stretch (17 km) of the 272 km long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project is still under construction and the CRS is yet to inspect the site.
“CRS inspection of the stretch is expected in the first week of January… work has been completed and testing of tower wagons on the cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji Khad (connecting Katra and Reasi sections) is underway.” The officer said.
The ambitious USBRL project, also known as the Kashmir Line, was sanctioned in 1994-95. However, it was destroyed by landslides and other adverse geological effects in the last 25 years and its cost has increased manifold to the present estimated Rs 37,500 crore. The iconic 359 meter high Chenab Bridge is located on this line. It is 35 meters taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Construction of the first three phases of the project was completed by 2014 and trains are running between Baramulla and Banihal in the Kashmir valley and Jammu, Udhampur and Katra in the Jammu region.
The intermediate 111 km section Katra-Banihal was a difficult and treacherous section due to its geology and extensive river system full of deep ravines. Out of this 111 km section, 48 km section from Banihal to Sangaldan became operational in February 2024 and another 46 km long Sangaldan-Reasi section received CRS authorization on July 01, 2024. If CRS goes ahead with the remaining Katra-Reasi section, Indian Railways will proceed to start train services.
With the opening of this line, the government aims to operate a train from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, connecting the far north and south of India. “The project to connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari is now ready, and trains will start running on this route within the next four months. It will be a big achievement for India,” Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in the Lok Sabha recently.
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