Kashmir Railway on Track: Around 95% Work Completed on Katra-Banihal Section

Around 95% work on the Katra-Banihal route has been completed, paving way to connect Kashmir valley to the rest of the country, Northern Railways said on Friday.

The Northern Railways issued the statement after zone’s General Manager Shobhan Chaudhuri carried out an inspection of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.

“Out of the 272 km USBRL project, 161 km of Railway track has already been commissioned. On the remaining 111 km long Katra-Banihal section, the ongoing work is completed up to 95%…Work on the remaining portion is in full swing. Every day, Indian Railway is edging closer to connecting Kashmir Valley to the rest of the Railway network," it added.

The Rail Link project is undertaken by the Indian Railways for construction of a broad-gauge railway line through the Himalayas, with the aim of connecting the Kashmir region with the rest of the country.

The all-weather, comfortable, convenient and cost effective mass transportation system will be the catalyst for the overall development of the northernmost alpine region of the country.

Chaudhuri commenced his inspection from Katra onwards by motor trolley up to tunnel T1. He directed all officers and staff to work in earnest ensuring all safety precautions and complete the work of the T1 tunnel, which is negotiating the most challenging geology of the Himalayas, the statement added.

He also conducted inspections of the Anji Bridge and Chenab Bridge. Anji Khad bridge is the first and only cable-stayed rail bridge in the country.

He took a motor trolley inspection from Chenab Bridge to Dugga station.

SANCTIONED IN 1994-95

This project was sanctioned in 1994-95 and its anticipated cost was Rs 37,012 crore, against which an expenditure of Rs 26,786 crore has been incurred up to March 2022.

With the completion of the project, Kashmir will be linked to the rest of the country through rail. The Katra-Banihal line is likely to be started from December or January.

This rail section is the only non-functional one in the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project. The section has 35 tunnels and 37 bridges.

In December last year, a major milestone was achieved by executing the breakthrough of Escape Tunnel T-49 between Sumber and Khari Stations on the Katra–Banihal section of the USBRL project.

The length of the escape tunnel is 12.895 km. This is the longest escape tunnel of India and the line and level of the tunnel are precisely achieved during the breakthrough of the Escape Tunnel.