Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) is expected to be completed in this financial year.  He added that out of the 272-kilometre-lon rail link, 255 kilometres have been completed. 

Vaishnaw said this in a written response to queries by BJP MP Ashok Chavan. Questioning the status of USBRL, Chavan had inquired about the total expenditure incurred on the construction so far and the projected costs for the near future.

Chavan had also asked if any trial run of electric engines had been conducted by the railways on the railway bridge being built over the Chenab river on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link. He had also asked for the timeline of the rail route becoming operational.

Vaishnaw said, “The work of the new line in Jammu & Kashmir is being undertaken under Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project. Out of the total 272 km of Udhampur Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL), 255 km has already been completed.”

Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project: Cost

As per Vaishnaw, work has started on the remaining 17-kilometre stretch of the Katra-Reasi section. He said that the expected project cost is Rs 41,000 crore, of which, Rs 38,931 crore expenditure has been incurred up to March 2024.

Saying the USBRL was perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in the country post-independence, Vaishnaw added that the terrain passes through the Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises.

According to the Railway Minister, this section predominantly involves tunnelling — 97.42 km out of 111 km (87 per cent) of Katra-Banihal section is in tunnels and a tunnel, T-49, would be 12.77 km, which will be the longest railway tunnel in the country.

He said, “Railways has made the world’s highest railway bridge over Chenab river in Reasi district of Jammu & Kashmir. The iconic Chenab Bridge is 1,315m long having an arch span of 467m and height of 359m above river bed.”

He also mentioned the construction of Indian Railways’ first cable-stayed bridge over the Anji Khad. This bridge features a deck 331 meters above the riverbed and a main pylon height of 193 meters. The Railway Minister reported that trial runs with electric trains have been successfully conducted on the Chenab Bridge, and a 46 km section from Reasi to Sangaldan has been commissioned.

“Chenab Bridge is situated between Bakkal and Dugga stations on the Reasi-Sangaldan section. The project is likely to be completed this financial year,” Vaishnaw added. 

(With PTI inputs)