Srinagar, Apr 12: Security has been beefed up in Reasi ahead of the inauguration of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 19.
Dilip Kumar, Executive Director of Information and Publicity (ED/IP) at the Railway Board, said that the 272-kilometre stretch, including a 119-kilometre tunnel, is a key development for the region’s connectivity.
He further added, “It has been the dream of every Indian to have a train running to Kashmir. For this, we have made long preparations, and now this USBRL section is ready.”
“There is a 119-kilometre tunnel in this 272-kilometre section. This entire area is very important for Kashmir’s religious, tourism, and connectivity needs,” he added.
He further mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the USBRL project on April 19.
“The Prime Minister is going to dedicate this entire project to the country, which will benefit the people of the country a lot. According to the planning so far, Prime Minister Modi will dedicate this project to the nation on April 19,” Dilip Kumar said.
He further pointed out that on the day of its inauguration, two Vande Bharat Express trains will begin service, one running from Srinagar and the other from Katra to Srinagar.
On the date of commencement of the project, we have planned to run two Vande Bharat Express trains. One Vande Bharat Express train will run from Srinagar, and the other will run from Katra to Srinagar,” the Railway Board Executive Director said.
On January 23, Indian Railways conducted the trial run of the first Vande Bharat train from the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station to the Srinagar railway station. The train will run through Anji Khad Bridge, India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, and Chenab Bridge, which is the highest railway bridge in the world.
Out of the total 272 kms of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 kms was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by the 18 km Banihal-Qazigund link in June 2013, 25 kms of the Udhampur-Katra stretch in July 2014 and the 48.1 km Banihal-Sangaldan section in February, last year.
The work on the 46 km Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra which was also completed nearly three months ago, leading to the start of different trials of trains, including that of Vande Bharat.
The project involved an expenditure of Rs 41,000 crore.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was conducted on the Katra-Banihal section.
A series of trials over the past few months on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges, have been conducted.
The Vande Bharat Express Train between Katra and Srinagar has been specially designed with anti-freezing features.
Manufactured by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), this new Vande Bharat train can operate smoothly in extremely cold conditions as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius. To ensure comfort for passengers and drivers, the train is equipped with advanced heating systems.
The safety features of the train include CCTV cameras and Emergency Talk Back Units.
The train has shatterproof windows and the windshield of the driver is equipped with a special anti-frost system that allows a clear field of vision.
The train to Kashmir will give a boost to tourism, horticulture, agriculture, industries, education, and to the average Kashmiri, who can now forget his fears about the strategic Jammu-Srinagar highway getting closed due to rain and snowfall.
The train will provide an uninterrupted all-weather connectivity, and the carriage of goods to and from the Valley will become much cheaper in the coming days.