Railways Minister to visit Kashmir on March 25

Srinagar, March 23: Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw will visit Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday to finalize the arrangements on Udampur-Baramulla Rail Link Project and will inspect the major works of the railways in the region.
Chief Area Manager (CAM) Kashmir, Saqib Yousuf Yatoo (IRTS) told Rising Kashmir that Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw will arrive in Kashmir on Saturday. Arrangements are being finalized in this regard, he said.
Another official at Northern Railways said that the Railway Minister will inspect the recent projects of northern railways in Valley and would also visit central station Budgam where he will attend the meeting with the railways’ authorities,” official said adding that Minister would travel towards Baramulla.
“In Kashmir, the major works have been finished and he may announce the inauguration dates of the Electric Train. He will also review the preparation of Master Plans and their implementation in phases to improve the amenities at the stations,” he said.
The official also said in the evening, the Minister will visit the 1.3-km Chenab Railway Bridge in the Reasi district of Jammu division. The arch bridge is 35 meters higher than the Eiffel Tower. The move comes days after railways conducted a successful trial of small train on the world’s highest railway,” he said.
He said the Minister will also review the longest railway tunnel having overall length of 12.75 km and the first cable-stayed bridge, which when completed will be an engineering marvel of the 21st century.
The officials said the works are progressing in top gear at all fronts. “The morale of officers and staff working on the project is very high and they are highly motivated to complete this prestigious work expeditiously,” he said.
The electrification works of the Katra-Banihal section are sanctioned and work is in progress, he said, adding electrification works in the Banihal-Baramulla section were completed in September last year.
Out of a total 272-km USBRL project, 161 km was commissioned in phases, with the first phase 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009 followed by 18-km Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013 and 25-km Udhampur-Katra in July 2014.
The under-construction 111-km Katra-Banihal section has a total of 37 bridges (26 major and 11 minor), 35 tunnels with a length of 164 kms (main 27 with 97.64 km and eight escape tunnels with 66.40 km.
At present 19 train services with seven trains chug regularly on Baramulla- Banihal sector in J&K. About 30,000 passengers including students and office goers travel in the trains every day.
Kashmir got its first train service in 2013 and it was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway (USBRL) railway track is being laid to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Firozpur Railway division of Indian Railways’ Northern zone.
The 359 m (1,178 ft) tall Chenab Bridge lies on this line, which once completed will be the tallest railway bridge in the world.