Srinagar, Mar 25: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated on Saturday that the Kashmir valley’s rail network would be linked to the rest of the country by January next year, and that special ‘Vande Bharat’ trains are being designed for the Union Territory.
Addressing the press conference at the Srinagar railway station in the Nowgam area, the Minister said the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project is making significant progress and that it would be connected to the rest of the nation by January next year.
“The budget allocation for USBRL was about Rs 800 crore per year before 2014, which has been increased to Rs 6,000 crore in the year 2022-23 adding that it is 65% more than the average Annual Budget allocation during 2009-14.
“Work on the Chenab and Anji bridges and significant tunnels is also ongoing, with encouraging progress.” “With the grace of God, the train will run on this line in December this year or January next year,” he said.
The Railway Minister said that specially designed Vande Bharat trains are being manufactured for Kashmir keeping its weather conditions into consideration.
“Everything like temperature, snow, has been kept in mind while manufacturing this special train. Once the railway line is opened, you will have the ‘Vande Bharat’ train in the middle of 2024,” he said.
Ashwini Vaishnaw said demands have been received for connecting three areas with the railway line that includes Sopore-Kupwara, Awantipora-Shopian, and Bijbehara-Pahalgam.
“We will take this matter and discuss it with Central and UT Governments so that it gets fulfilled,” the minister said.
He said the Railways is planning to further improve telephone connectivity, double lines, parcel services, cement, and pharmaceutical trade besides, and facilities for apple trade would also be considered. These services would be ensured by the end of the year,” the railway minister said.
Asked about the delay in completing the project, he said there was less funding before Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014.
Ashwini Vaishnaw said there were technical reasons for the delay as well. The Himalayas are the young mountains which means they are soft and tunnelling work is very difficult,” he said.
“All challenges have now been completed and all the difficult works have been done,” he said.
The Railway Minister said Chenab railway bridge as an engineering marvel and it is one of the highest bridges in the world and the highest railway bridge in entire country.
“It is uhigher than the Eiffel Tower…All the tests have been done and all have been successful. High-velocity winds, extreme temperature, earthquake-prone area, hydrological impact — everything has been studied in detail,” he said.
“The bridge is ready for operations and we are conducting another trail run on Sunday. It is one of the biggest gift for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the Minister said.
Regarding the Anji bridge, Ashwini Vaishnaw said it will be also completed by August this year and after fine-tuning works, will be available for commissioning by September this year.
“Out of 47 segments, 41 have been already been launched, adding the whole project is very complex,” he said.
Replying to a question about the inauguration of an electric train, the railway minister said it will be inaugurated in Kashmir very soon as the electrification work has been completed.
“The highway connectivity along the railway line is good. I was told there is good connectivity from Qazigund to Baramulla. In case there is no road connectivity, we will took those areas into the consideration,” he said.
Ashwini Vaishnaw said the railways has started a parcel booking facility in Srinagar, along with the Department of Posts, to send products by booking parcels from here to different parts of the country.
“We will take it up on a large scale in the days to come, especially when the railway line is completed,” he said.
The Minister also inspected the stall of “One Station One Product” at Srinagar Railway Station.
Ashwini Vaishnaw said about 750 ‘one station-one product’ stalls have been put up at railway stations across the country. “These stalls have unique products of the area which can be sent to every corner of the country,” he added.
“There are 146 Gati-Shakti cargo terminals across the country for handling rail cargo and I have directed the officials to develop three to four on the Banihal-Baramulla line.”
He also visited Budgam Railway Station and inquired about various procedures related to the maintenance of trains at Carriage & Wagon Depot, Budgam.
Ashwini Vaishnaw had a detailed discussion with the officers on all matters related to the maintenance of trains and gave necessary guidelines.
He then undertook a journey from Budgam Railway Station to Baramulla Railway Station by special inspection car. He made a detailed overview of the safety and security of the railway section and took stock of the passenger amenities at Baramulla Railway Station.
The Minister discussed with the concerned railway officers the development works to be done at Baramulla Railway Station.
He also interacted with Railway employees and inspected the dry fruit stall of “One Station One Product”. He appreciated the local dry fruits of Baramulla and purchased them using the digital mode of payment.
