Jmu-Baramulla railway to uplift economy
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway line, once completed, will be revolutionary for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as it will turnaround the economic landscape, an official here said on Monday.
He further said that the railway line will not only give the all-weather connectivity to Kashmir valley but also substantially reduce the transportation costs and will form the backbone of transport of J&K.
“The logistics of the track faced many natural challenges as it had to be constructed through major earthquake zone, battling extreme temperatures and hilly terrains,” he said adding, “though the sections from Jammu to Katra and Banihal to Baramulla have been built and are operational, the track from Katra to Banihal is yet to be completed.”
The official also informed that the extension of the railway line up to Kupwara has also been approved.
As per him, the Jammu-Udhampur stretch has 20 tunnels, of which the longest is 2.5-km while the highest bridge measures 77 metres.
Sensing the need to connect Kashmir Valley with the northern railway grid, the Government of India declared the Jammu-Baramulla railway line a national project in 2002, he stated.
Operationally, the Jammu-Baramulla railway line is divided into four sections comprising, Leg-0-running 53km from Jammu to Udhampur and completed in 2005, Leg-1, running 25km from Udhampur to Katra, dedicated to the nation on 4th July 2014, Leg-2, running 111km from Katra to Banihal which is under construction and has 35 tunnels and Leg-3, running 135km from Banihal to Baramulla, dedicated for public use on June 26, 2013.
One of the significant achievement of Jammu-Baramulla railway line was completion of 11 kilometre long Pir-Panjal railway tunnel also known as Banihal-Qazigund tunnel, he further stated and added, “this tunnel was extremely challenging and its completion was hailed as an outstanding achievement as it was India’s longest rail tunnel. Its average elevation is 1760 m and is 440 m below the Jawahar tunnel. This tunnel gives all weather connectivity to Kashmir valley with the rest of the country.”
“The stretch is not more than 111 km but around 98 km of this stretch comprises bridges and tunnels. Among these bridges will be the one being built across the deep gorge of the Chenab River near the Salal hydroelectric dam. This bridge of steel arches is 1315 m long and at a height of 359 m from the ground,” he further informed.
“Passenger trains will be provided with high power diesel multiple units and heated, air-conditioned coaches with wide windows, sliding doors and reclining seats. Three aspect color-light signaling is being installed on the route for safety, and GSM-R equipment may be installed in the future to improve its quality,” the official .
He added that it can be undoubtedly the Jammu-Baramulla railway line, once completed, will pay huge dividends to the economy, connectivity, security and development of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
