The Northern Railway has completed the most challenging rail project in the Himalayan region of North India, connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country via a rail link. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the final track work on the rail link has been completed, calling it a “historic milestone.”
In a post on X, the minister wrote, “Historic milestone: Final track work on Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link completed.”
The track work for Tunnel T-33, a 3.2 km long tunnel located at the foothills of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, connecting Katra to Reasi was successfully completed today at 02:00 hrs, according to railway officials. The 45 km rail link between Reasi and Sangaldan has already been completed, and trial runs have been conducted between Sangaldan and Reasi. This section also features the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link is a national project undertaken by Northern Railway to build a railway line through the Himalayas, connecting the Kashmir region with the rest of the country. It is one of the most difficult rail projects ever undertaken by Indian Railways. The alignment of the track presented some of the biggest railway engineering challenges.
The route includes numerous bridges and tunnels, with about 750 bridges and more than 100 km of tunnels. The longest tunnel spans 11,215 meters. Among the biggest engineering challenges was crossing the mighty Chenab River. The Chenab Bridge, which is the highest railway structure of its kind in the world, is 35 meters (115 feet) taller than the top of the Eiffel Tower.
This all-weather, comfortable, convenient, and affordable mass transit system will be a transformative step for Kashmir’s development. As a tourist destination, Kashmir’s tourist inflow is expected to nearly double.
It is expected that the Vande Bharat train will create history on January 26 by becoming the first train to reach Kashmir directly from Delhi. After missing several deadlines, the people of Jammu and Kashmir will finally get all-weather train connectivity with the rest of the country next month. Northern Railway has already completed the 180 km long Sangaldan-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link, and train services are running from Baramulla to Banihal in Kashmir.
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