Jammu: The first ever high speech trial run of a train is expected to be held on Wednesday from Katra to Banihal stretch of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla-Railway-Line (USBRL) after Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) on Tuesday conducted a visit to the area.
The CRS had an extensive safety survey from Katra to Reasi track and expressed satisfaction over the work done as per an official.
“After this visit by a team headed by CRS and attended by officials of the Konkan railways and northern railways, there are chances that trial run of a high speech train will be conducted from Katra upto Banihal and return tomorrow,” an official, who was part of the team, told ETV Bharat.
The official said that the team started from Katra and monitored T-31, Bahni bridge, T-32, T-33, Pai Khad bridge, T-34, cable-stayed Anji Khad bridge, T-35 and went up to Reasi. “The team will be visiting the world’s highest railway bridge, Chenab bridge, in the evening and will be staying in the area for the night,” the official added.
On December 16 and 17, the CRS conducted a visit to the area and took stock of the situation. Since then, officials of Konkan railways were preparing for the trial run, and all the issues were fixed which were pointed out by the CRS during his previous visit.
This visit of CRS is of utmost importance to start the direct train from New Delhi to Srinagar which will be a historical moment to connect Kashmir valley with the rest of the country through the rail network.
“If the trial run is successful, CRS will be submitting his report to the railway department in New Delhi after which a call is expected to be taken for the start of the train service to Kashmir,” he added.
The start of direct train service to Kashmir will benefit the overall development of J&K whereas trade and tourism of Kashmir valley will also increase. Goods and fuel, which so far are being transported to the valley through the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, will also be taken in cargo trains and the prices of goods are also expected to come down.
After Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a New Railway Division for Jammu on Monday, rail connectivity is expected to get a major boost in Jammu and Kashmir and all the decisions about starting new projects in the region will be taken from the Jammu railway division.
The history of railways in Jammu and Kashmir dates to the pre-independence era when in 1890 a train service was started between Jammu and Sialkot (now in Pakistan). After that it was only after the 1965 war between India and Pakistan that work started to bring direct train to Jammu from Punjab. In 1972, the first train reached Jammu with the name of Srinagar express, now Jhelum Express and after that other trains also arrived in the winter capital. The latest among them all is Vande Bharat express, which is expected to become the first train to Kashmir directly from the national capital. In 1981 Jammu to Udhampur train project was taken up and the foundation stone was laid by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on April 14, 1983. After missing several deadlines, on April 13, 2005 the then PM Manmohan Singh flagged off the train service to Udhampur, which is also the headquarters of northern command. After that it was the turn of Kashmir valley to witness trains running and from October 11, 2009 onwards different sections of local train service was started and on July 4, 2014, direct train service to Katra, the base camp of Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, was also flagged off by PM Narendra Modi.
Read more:
- Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link To Boost Tourism In Region
- Train To Kashmir: Railways Conducts Trial Run Of Cargo-loaded Train On Katra-Reasi Rail Section
