northern circle Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) Dinesh Chand Deshwal on Tuesday gave permission to run passenger trains on the newly constructed broad gauge railway line connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country. The officers provided this information. CRS had conducted a two-day inspection of the Katra-Reasi segment of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project about a week ago, after which this approval has now been given. Officials said that based on its detailed inspection on January 7 and 8, the CRS has given permission to run goods trains and passenger trains in a seven-page letter to the concerned ministry and railway officials, including the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety. This marks the completion of this much awaited ambitious project.
Work started in 1997
Work on the project to connect Kashmir by rail began in 1997 and due to geographical and climatic challenges, the work was not completed on time several times. Out of the total 272 km of rail line under the USBRL project, work on 209 km was undertaken in phases, with the first phase being the 118 km Qazigund-Baramulla segment starting in October 2009, followed by the 18 km Banihal-Baramulla segment in June 2013. Qazigund route, 25 km Udhampur-Katra route in July 2014 and 48.1 km long in February last year Banihal-Sangaldan section started.
speed of 85 kilometers per hour
The work on the 46 km long section between Sangaldan-Reasi was also completed in June last year, but a total of 17 km between Reasi and Katra was left and this section was also completed in December 2024. Quoting the letter, officials said that permission has been given to operate trains at a speed of 85 kilometers per hour on the main line and 15 kilometers per hour on ‘turnout’ (when the train changes from one line to another). However, officials said that along with the approval, compliance with various conditions and guidelines has also been asked. On reaching Banihal after the successful speed test, Deshwal told reporters that a new chapter has been added in the history of the Railways with the test at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour on a 180 degree climb in challenging topography from Katra to Banihal. Last month, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had announced the completion of Reasi-Katra section.
(With inputs from Bhasha/PTI)
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