Modi to visit highest rail bridge, address rally at holy town
Train to start operations from Jammu in August
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Mar 26: Wait of several years for connecting Kashmir with train will be over on April 19 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off first train to the Valley from holy town of Katra, the base camp of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji shrine in the presence of Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah among others.
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This will end wait of several decades for direct train to Kashmir as presently the train services are operational between Sangaldan to Baramulla and from across the country to Katra.
With trial runs successful and clearances from all channels for safety and security of train and passengers, Modi today gave his nod for flagging off first train to Kashmir on April 19.
When contacted, Dr Jitendra Singh confirmed that the Prime Minister will inaugurate train services to the Valley from Katra on April 19.
Official sources told the Excelsior that Narendra Modi will land at Udhampur Army airport from New Delhi in the morning of April 19 and then fly to world’s highest railway bridge over river Chenab in Reasi district. He will inspect the bridge which has become an engineering marvel not only in India but across the world. The Railways officials will brief him on construction of the bridge and other aspects.
Modi will then reach to Katra and flag off the train. Later, he will address a rally in the holy town before returning to New Delhi from Udhampur Army airport.
As per the sources, initially the train will run from Katra to Baramulla. However, after completion of expansion work at Jammu Railway Station including increase in number of platforms, the train to Valley will start operations from Jammu, most likely in July-August.
“There will be no direct train from Delhi or any other part to Kashmir. The passengers will have to de-board at Katra and change the train. Later, the same process will shift to Jammu,” the sources said but added that details are expected to be announced within the next few days.
Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan visited Jammu few days back and reviewed launch of train service to Kashmir with particular reference to all security aspects. The same day the Chairman Railways Board and Director General RPF had also reviewed various aspects of the situation before launch of train to the Valley, at Katra.
Several trials of train from Katra to Baramulla including that of Vande Bharat have been successful and now security issues have also been taken into account, the sources said.
Out of the total 272-kilometer, Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 kilometer was commissioned in phases with the first phase of the 118-kilometre Qazigund-Baramulla section commissioned in October 2009, followed by 18-kilometre Banihal-Qazigund in June 2013, 25-kilometre Udhampur-Katra in July 2014 and 48.1-kilometre long Banihal-Sangaldan stretch in February, last year.
The work on the 46- kilometer Sangaldan-Reasi section was also completed in June last year, leaving a total of 17 kilometer stretch between Reasi and Katra which was also completed nearly three months back leading to start of different trials of trains including that of Vande Bharat.
The project involved a cost of Rs 41,000 crore
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The Railways have conducted series of trials over the past few months on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Kashmir will get a new specially designed Vande Bharat Express Train. This new semi-high-speed train will connect Katra and Srinagar. The new semi-high-speed train connecting Katra and Srinagar will be the third such train in J&K.
The Vande Bharat Express Train between Katra and Srinagar has been specially designed with anti-freezing features. Manufactured by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF), this new Vande Bharat train can operate smoothly in extremely cold conditions, i.e. as low as -20 degrees Celsius. To ensure comfort for passengers and drivers, the train is equipped with advanced heating systems.
The Vande Bharat train for Kashmir valley has several safety features including CCTV cameras, and Emergency Talk Back Unit, among others. The train is not equipped with bulletproof windows but does feature shatterproof windows.
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