WAJAHAT SHABIR
SRINAGAR: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat train service of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a 272-km project in the first week of June, officials said.
As per the sources, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat train to Kashmir likely on June 6. Sources further said PM Modi will travel to Chenab (highest railway bridge) from where he will fly to Katra and will flag off the train connecting Kashmir to other parts of the country.
In this regard, Northern Railway has sent a letter to railway officials asking them to make preparations.
In reference to above, this is to inform you that the inauguration function of the USBRL section and flagging-off of Vande Bharat (SVDK-SINA) Rake-21/2080, by honourable Prime Minister of the India is scheduled in the first week of June 2025 at SVDK, it reads.
As such, you are advised to arrange for your staff in advance at SVDK for the smooth conduct of the event. Also, arrange to update their personal information/data in the required format at the earliest, not later than 02.06.2025, it added.
The final stretch of USBRL was first set to be inaugurated in April, however, for some reason, the plan was cut out.
In January Railway authorities conducted a 22-bogie train trail run on the Katra-Budgam track on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
The train, comprising 18 AC coaches, two luggage carriers and two engines, left the Katra railway station at around 8 am, successfully reaching its destination within four hours under the watchful eyes of the railway authorities.
In 2009, the Qazigund-Baramulla section in Kashmir was rendered operational, following which in 2013, the 18-km Banihal-Qazigund section, and in 2014, the 24-km Udhampur-Katra section was started. In 2023, the section between Banihal and Sangaldan was started, and now the connectivity between Sangaldan to Katra, which is believed to be the most difficult of all sections, has been completed.
The Vande Bharat train will snake through the Chenab Bridge standing 359 meters above mean sea level. Developed at an estimated cost of ₹37,000 crore, the USBRL project involved laying out ballast less tracks over bridges and tunnels, spanning deep gorges, with 90% of the route traversed over 943 bridges, and 36 main tunnels, including India’s longest railway tunnel, T-50 stretching more than 12.7 kms.
On the Katra-Banihal section the train will also traverse another engineering marvel, the Anji Khad bridge which is India’s first cable stayed bridge. It is 725 metres long; with the support of 96 cables, it stands 331 metres above mean sea level.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier this month, Around 800 Indian Army soldiers on Tuesday completed the full rail journey from Delhi to Srinagar, via Katra, the first time such an event took place since the completion of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL).
