Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday promised to connect unlinked areas of Jammu and Kashmir through the railway network, announcing that trains will soon reach the Kashmir valley.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project nearing completion is set to establish a direct link between Kashmir and the rest of the country. Of the total 272 km of the USBRL project, 161 km has already been commissioned in phases.
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Addressing an election rally in the Doda district in support of BJP candidates earlier in the day, Modi said work on the railway line between Srinagar and Ramban is complete and the trial runs have begun.
“We are working to connect the unlinked areas of Jammu and Kashmir through rail. Soon, the people of Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, and Kashmir will be able to travel directly to Delhi by train. I will fulfil your dream,” Modi said at the rally.
“Very soon, trains will run to Srinagar through Ramban. The work on the railway line is complete, the station is ready, and trials have already begun,” he added.
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The first phase, the 118-km Qazigund-Baramulla section, was commissioned in October 2009, followed by the 18-km Banihal-Qazigund stretch in June 2013, and the 25-km Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.
The 48.1-km Banihal-Sangaldan section of the USBRL project, one of India’s most ambitious rail projects, was dedicated to the public by Modi in Jammu on February 20.
Several inspections of the tracks and stations were conducted in June and July this year.
The Commissioner of Rail Safety (CRS), DC Deshwal, also inspected the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section, which includes the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge over the Chenab River and several major tunnels.
Given the strategic importance of the USBRL in providing seamless and uninterrupted connectivity to Kashmir, the project was declared a “National Project” in 2002.