Safety inspection underway, Jammu-Srinagar train service likely to start soon
The first train connecting Jammu to Srinagar may begin its commercial run later this month, marking the completion of an over two-decade-old project that would link the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country by a direct railway line.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that safety inspection of the last leg of the train connectivity between Katra and Banihal by commissioner of railway safety (CRS) is expected to be completed this week, after which regular train service between Katra and Srinagar would begin.
He said that along with other mail express trains, a Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat train will also be run on the route that would cover the distance between the two junctions in just over 3 hours.
A new chapter was written in the Indian Railways’ history with a successful rising grade speed trial in the challenging geography from Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra to Banihal along the USBRL (Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link) project on Wednesday. The trial run was conducted by running the train at a speed 110km per hour on the 180-degree rising grade.
An earlier notification by the Northern Railways indicated that three trains will ply between Jammu and Srinagar every day, with two being mail express trains that will cover the distance in 3.20 hours and a Vande Bharat train that would cover the distance in 3.10 hours.
Katra-Banihal most challenging
The 111km of Katra-Banihal section is the most challenging part of the 272-km, ₹40,000-crore USBRL Project and is perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in the country post-Independence. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous challenges. This section predominantly involves tunnelling 97.42km out of 111km of the length of the Katra-Banihal section, and the maximum length of tunnel T-49 is 12.77km, which will be longest transportation railway tunnel in the country, a statement from the ministry of railways said.
The section involves 25 tunnels of 97.42km length, 49 bridges of total length of 7.04km, and 6.54km in open formation. Also, to comply with international safety norms, 8 parallel escape tunnels of length 66.4km with cross passages connecting main and escape tunnels at every 375m have been provided in tunnels having a length more than 3km for safety and rescue, the statement added.
This segment of the project also includes the iconic Chenab Bridge (overall length 1,315m, arch span of 467m and height of 359m above river bed), which is the highest railway arch bridge in the world, and the cable stay bridge at Anji Khad, which is the Indian Railways’ first cable stayed bridge having a length of 473m.
There are seven stations on the section namely Khari, Sumber, Sangaldan in Ramban district and Sawalkote, Dugga, Bakkal and Reasi in Reasi District of J&K and all these station yards are constructed partly inside tunnels and on bridges due to space constraints. The entire section is also electrified.
The minister also informed that rapid progress has been made on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed train project, while production of sleeper Vande Bharat trains would begin soon by joint venture entities as all project related issues have been addressed by the railways.
