Jammu will be connected with Kashmir soon: Officials
2 – day inspection along Sangaldan-Reasi section by June end
Srinagar, June 16: The Northern Railways on Thursday conducted a successful trial of an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) on the world’s tallest rail bridge. The officials on Sunday revealed that Jammu will be soon connected with the Kashmir valley.
The trial run was held between Sangaldan Railway Station and Reasi Railway Station. In the coming days, a regular train service is expected to commence between Reasi and Baramulla.
Talking to the media, Konkan Railways Engineer, Deepak Kumar said that soon Jammu will be connected with Kashmir through this rail service link.
“Today, the wagon tower has successfully reached Resai station. We are immensely happy and proud of this achievement,” he said.
Kumar further said that labourers and engineers have been diligently working for a long time, and their hard work has finally paid off. Rail service will soon commence on this bridge, he added.
Meanwhile Commissioner of Railways Safety (CRS), D.C. Deshwal will carry out a two-day inspection of the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section later this month. This section features the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge over the Chenab River and several major tunnels.
Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway Deepak Kumar told Rising Kashmir that the commissioning of this section of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) hinges on the CRS’s inspection, scheduled for June 27 and 28.
“Currently, trains run along the railway line from Kanyakumari to Katra, and services are operational from Baramulla to Sangaldan in the Kashmir Valley,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Union Minister Jitendra Singh wrote on ‘X’ said that train service from #Ramban (Sangaldan) to #Reasi via the world’s highest railway bridge built on river Chenab will begin soon. The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project will be completed by year-end, he added.
The USBRL project, including the 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan section, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024.
Phase I of the project, covering the 118 km long Qazigund-Baramulla section, was inaugurated in October 2009. Subsequent phases saw the inauguration of the 18 km long Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25 km long Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.
The Chenab Rail Bridge, constructed 359 metres (around 109 feet) above the Chenab River in the Jammu and Kashmir region, is some 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower.
Presently train services are operational between Jammu and Udhampur, as well as Katra and Srinagar to Banihal in the Jammu division.
Of the extensive 272 km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, attention is now focused on the remaining 111 km rail section to connect Banihal to Katra.
In Dec 2023, the first electric rail trial run from Banihal Railway Station to Khari Railway Station in Ramban district was held.
On a normal day, at least 20 pairs of trains run regularly from Baramulla in north Kashmir to Sangaldan and carry almost 30,000 passengers, including students and employees.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway (USBRL) is a railway track being laid to connect the Valley to the rest of India. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Firozpur railway division of Indian Railways’ Northern zone.
