Riyasi/Jammu: Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Sunday that the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) will be completed by January 2024 and that there were plans to run a ‘Vande Bharat Metro’ between Jammu and Srinagar, finally connecting the Kashmir valley to the rest of the country through a train service.
Vaishnaw was speaking to mediapersons at the first run of a track-mounted trolley on the Chenab bridge in Riyasi district of Jammu. When asked about the plans to expand railway connectivity to Ladakh, he said, “work was being done at an accelerated speed” in all of the Himalayan region.
He had come to inspect the world’s highest arch rail bridge across the Chenab river, where the track has recently been laid. With a height of about 359 metres and 1.3 km length, the rail bridge has been constructed to connect the Kauri and Ballal ends in the Katra-Banihal section of the challenging USBRL project.
The 367 km-long USBRL, which comprises the Chenab bridge, and India’s first cable-stayed bridge, the Anji Dhar bridge, has been touted as the “most challenging work undertaken post-independence by Indian railways” by the Northern Railways. It was planned in 1999 to provide an alternative and all-weather transportation system to open up the valley and its economy to the rest of the country.
“It is through the will power, leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision that we have been able to face challenges that emerge in these areas…There are challenges in other regions as well, such as the northeast. Experiences from here can be shared in the northeast because of a similar topography,” the minister said.
Vaishnaw also said that the reason for the delay of the project was because before 2014, only Rs 800 crore was allocated (to it) per year, which was increased to Rs 6,000 crore in 2022-2023.
For the Chenab bridge, the sensitive geography posed a challenge as it is prone to seismic activity. “The bridge is designed (to withstand tremors of) Richter scale 8. It is has been designed innovatively and is strong enough to let a tank drive through it. It will also be able to reduce the travelling distance to just 2-3-1/2 hour and would benefit the trade of dry fruits, pashmina shawl and other consumable goods,” he added.
The Vande Bharat Metro will also cut down the travel time and it would be helpful in transporting these items, because these trains are air conditioned.
He also spoke about opening an academy in Jammu where engineers and technicians from across the country would be trained in maintaining rail projects.
“The bridge is designed (to withstand tremors of) 8 Richter scale. It is has been designed innovatively and is strong enough to let a tank drive through it. It will also be able to reduce the travelling distance to just 2-3-1/2 hour and would benefit the trade of dry fruits, pashmina shawl and other consumable goods,” he added.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)
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