Muzaffar Khan
Railway projects in Jammu and Kashmir, USBRL project: Good news for Jammu and Kashmir! Indian Railways (IR) has achieved a historic milestone on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. With this, the national transporter has removed a major hurdle in rail connectivity to Kashmir, paving the way for the launch of the New Delhi-Srinagar Vande Bharat sleeper train.
Rail projects in Jammu and Kashmir come under the administrative control of the Northern Railway (NR) zone. Sanctioned in 1994-95, the 383-km USBRL project ensures rail connectivity between Jammu Railway Station and the Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
The USBRL project has been facing delays due to various infrastructure lapses. It has been declared a national project.
The national transporter achieved a historic milestone on Friday with the completion of the much-awaited USBRL project. Sharing a post on X (formerly Twitter), Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishno Devi termed it a historic milestone. He said that the final track work on the USBRL has been completed.
The Union Minister said, “The ballast-less track work for the 3.2 km long tunnel T-33, located at the foot of the shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and connecting Katra to Reasi, was successfully completed at 02:00 pm today.”
With the completion of the USBRL project and the establishment of rail connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar, the Railways is closer to introducing the Vande Bharat Sleeper Train in the Valley. However, before the launch, the Railways will conduct several trial runs of EMU trains on the track. The Vande Bharat Sleeper Train, which connects the national capital to Srinagar, is expected to be launched in 2025.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project is now 100 per cent complete, with Kashmir’s railway stations soon to be connected to the rest of the country. Stakeholders in Kashmir’s fruit trade are hopeful that the project will boost the apple industry, save valuable time and money. However, transport associations have expressed concerns over its impact on the local transport sector.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishno Devi on Friday announced the completion of the final track work for the USBRL project, calling it a “historic milestone”, in a social media post.
He wrote: “The final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link has been completed. The work of the 3.2 km long tunnel T-33, located at the foot of the shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi and connecting Katra. Reasi, was successfully completed at 2:00 am today.”
Officials said that the inspection and trial run in this regard is expected to start soon. They said that the inspection will involve a detailed inspection of the track using a trolley. It will cover the tracks, electrical work, tunnels and bridges.
According to officials, the first train from Delhi to Srinagar is expected to start operating within the next four months.
Arif Hussain Khatana, a student, shared his experience of a two-day journey to Srinagar, which cost Rs 2,000 to appear for exams.
Train connectivity is the need of the hour and should be introduced as soon as possible. This rail network will bring us closer to the rest of India. It will save time, reduce costs and encourage tourism that we could not even imagine.
The All Jammu and Kashmir Transporters Welfare Committee, an alliance of various transport associations, has expressed fears that rail connectivity could adversely affect the local transport sector. It has called for appropriate norms to regulate and protect the interests of local transporters.
Sheikh Muhammad Yousaf, general secretary of the Kashmir Welfare Transporters Association, said that the Delhi-Srinagar railway connectivity would adversely affect the local transport sector in Jammu and Kashmir. He said, there should be some norms that the authorities need to keep in mind. We have already suffered losses while introducing the Banihal-Baramulla train. However, if we look to the future, this rail will open a new chapter of development for Kashmir. The Delhi-Kashmir rail will not only connect Kashmir with other states of the country, but will also prove to be useful in increasing the tourism sector immensely, which will provide more employment opportunities in Kashmir.
