Indian Railways is working on a mission mode to connect the UT of Jammu and Kashmir with the other parts of the country. In this regard, the announcement of the introduction of Vande Bharat Express in the valley is of immense importance.

During his visit to the valley last month, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the operation of the country’s first indigenous semi-high speed train on the Udhampur-Srinagar- Baramulla rail route. The new age train is likely to be introduced by the end of this year.

Also read: Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project: How will it bring Kashmir closer to rest of the country — All details here

For this, the engineers are working on a full swing to complete the pending work of the USBRL project. This rail route will provide reliable and all-weather connectivity throughout the year.  It will also provide an alternative to the Jammu-Srinagar national highway. The highway is frequently shut down by landslides.

History of railway project in Jammu and Kashmir:-

In the valley, the first railway line over a distance of 40-45 km was built by the Britishers in 1897. It connects Jammu with Sialkot. Later, in 1902 and 1905, a proposal was made to construct a rail line from Rawalpindi to Srinagar. However, the project never progressed.

After independence, Sialkot went to Pakistan and thereby there was no presence of rail network in the valley. In 1975, the Pathankot-Jammu rail line was opened. According to the Indian Express, in 1983, the construction work on the 53-km long railway line between Jammu and Udhampur began at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore. The project was supposed to be completed in five years, but due to various reasons it was delayed and took more than two decades. It was finally completed at a cost of Rs 515 crore. The Jammu-Udhampur rail project has 20 major tunnels, and 158 bridges.

Also Read: USBRL rail project connecting Kashmir to rest of India completed 90 per cent, says Ministry of Railways

Later in 1994, the government led by Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao announced the extension of the line connecting Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla (USBRL). It received approval in 1995 at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore. However, it gained momentum during the term of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Development:-

The introduction of the blue and white colour train between Srinagar and Jammu will bring down the travel time by 03:30 hrs. Currently, it takes 5-6 hrs by road travel between the two cities.

Challenges:-

The construction of the rail project is one the most difficult tasks due to its unstable mountainous terrain. The terrain is difficult and witnesses heavy snow in winter.