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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first electric train in Kashmir on Tuesday and will also inaugurate the 48-km recently completed rail link from Banihal to Sangaldan (a town near district headquarter of Ramban) section in the Valley. This will be PM’s first public engagement in the region after nullification of Article 370 in 2019.
Officials said the railways will script a new history of trains running on clean fuel in the Valley and also host the biggest ever programme in its history next week for inauguration and foundation stone laying of nearly 2,000 projects in one go. These include revamp of over 500 stations and construction of rail over bridges and under bridges. These two will be major programmes before the poll code is announced.
Though the railway officials were hopeful of train operations beginning from Srinagar to Jammu before the Lok Sabha election—a long standing promise to connect the Valley by train—it may take another six months due to delay in the completion of two tunnels between Sangaldan and Katra. Officials said though the 18-km stretch between Dugga and Reasi is complete, trains can’t be operated unless the two stretches on both sides are complete.
“We are confident of non-stop train operations between Jammu and Kashmir by July-Aug this year. The tunnels are being built in difficult terrains,” said an official.
Currently, diesel-run trains operate on the Baramulla-Banihal section (138 km) and with the new line becoming operational, commuters can now travel by train from Baramulla to Sangaldan. The electrification of this entire section has been completed with Rs 470 crore investment. The section has 19 stations. “The electrification of the stretch will make operation of the Vande Bharat train possible,” said an official.
This is part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, which spans through challenging terrain of the Pir Panjal Ranges and it aims to establish an all-weather, comfortable, and economically feasible transportation network with the rest of the country.
Out of the total 272-km USBRL project, 161 km has been commissioned so far.
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