National Project

During his recent Kashmir visit, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw made two important announcements. He said that a Vande Bharat Metro train will ply between Jammu and Srinagar once the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project becomes fully operational. He further said the USBRL project will be completed by December this year or January 2024. It is pertinent to mention that the Udhampur-Banihal track is part of the 272-km USBRL project. It aims to connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country by a broad-gauge railway line. The project of laying a railway line to Kashmir was first announced in the 1990s, by then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao. The date of approval was March 1995 with an estimated cost of Rs 2500 crore. In 2002, his successor Atal Bihari Vajpayee termed it a “national project”. Construction of the route faced natural challenges including major earthquake zones, extreme temperatures and inhospitable terrain. There are four sections of this project: Udhampur-Katra, Katra-Banihal, Banihal-Qazigund, and Qazigund-Baramulla. The 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section was commissioned in October 2009. The 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section was started in June 2013, while the 25-km Udhampur-Katra section was commissioned in July 2014. All three sections have been completed. The announcement of upcoming Vande Bharat Metro service and connecting Kashmir via rail link came after the electrification of the Broad Gauge (BG) route in Jammu & Kashmir’s Ferozpur Division. This accomplishment is expected to enhance rail connectivity and increase train speeds in the Union Territory. This will improve rail connectivity and the speed of trains in the region. By achieving 100% electrification in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir of Ferozpur Division, the eco-friendly mode of railway transportation has been ensured, thus reducing dependence on imported crude oil which in turn has resulted in saving of precious foreign exchange for the nation. Switching to electric traction reduces operating cost, haulage of heavier freight trains and longer passenger trains with high haulage capacity of electric locomotives leading to increased throughput, increased sectional capacity by eliminating detention on account of traction change and saving of specific energy consumption. The connecting of Kashmir valley to the rest of the country via train will be a major milestone for the union territory. Kashmir has a long history of national highway closures and the air traffic too gets hit in case of inclement weather conditions in the winter months. Therefore, running of train service to Kashmir will provide an alternative mode of travel to both locals as well as tourists and businessmen. Due to soaring airfares during peak season, both locals as well as tourists face lots of problems. In this regard, running of a train service is expected to provide a major relief and also provide a cheaper alternative of transport especially for those who are not comfortable travelling on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway. It is also bound to increase the tourist footfalls to the Kashmir valley and boost overall businesses in the union territory.