NEW DELHI, Dec 13: The work on the tracks for the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) was completed on Friday, union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced.
In a post on social media platform X, Vaishnaw called it a “historic milestone”. “Final track work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link is complete. The ballastless track work for the 3.2 km-long Tunnel T-33, located at the foothills of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine and connecting Katra to Reasi, was successfully completed today at 02:00 hrs,” he said.
An important milestone in India’s railway connection is expected to be reached in January 2025 when the first direct train between the nation’s capital and Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, begins service. The third version of the Vande Bharat train will be the new Delhi-Srinagar sleeper train, which would reduce the 800-kilometre journey time to less than 13 hours.