Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first Vande Bharat Train for Kashmir on 19 April from Katra and with this 272 km long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla railway connectivity project will be completed.
Jammu-Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express will initially operate from Katra as repair and renewal work is being done in Jammu railway station. Officials said the railway link project was completed last month. He said that the Railway Safety Commissioner had approved the train service between Katra and Kashmir in January.
He informed that Vande Bharat Express will reduce the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar and modern and efficient rail service will be available for this region. Union Minister Jitendra Singh told reporters in Jammu on Sunday, “Prime Minister Modi will reach Udhampur on 19 April. He will visit the world’s highest railway bridge and inaugurate it. After this, he will flag off the Vande Bharat train from Katra. ”
With this, the long demand for direct rail connectivity to Kashmir will be fulfilled. At present, train services operate only between Sangaldan and Baramulla and Katra for destinations from all over the country. Officials said the ambitious project to connect Kashmir by rail route started in 1997 but delayed completing it due to geological, geographical and meteorological challenges.
The project consists of 38 tunnels of 119 km of 119 km, the longest tunnel T-49 which is 12.75 km long. It is also the longest transport tunnel in the country. The project also includes 927 bridges with a total length of 13 kilometers. These include the iconic Chenab bridge, which is 1,315 meters of total length. Its arches are 467 meters and it is 359 meters above the river floor. It will be the world’s highest arches railway bridge (Arch Bridge) due to being 35 meters high from Eiffel Tower.
