Udhampur-Baramulla Rail link ready, operations likely to start by January: Railway official

Anantnag (J-K), Dec 17 (PTI) Kashmir is likely to be connected to the rest of the country through rail next month as the work on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) has been completed, a senior Railway official said here on Tuesday.

The Northern Railway General Manager Ashok Verma told reporters here that the work on the final tunnel located in the Reasi area will be completed within a week.

“The project will be completed very soon. We are hopeful of the connectivity in January. Then all trains including Vande Bharat will run and a timetable will be framed for all the trains. We hope to start this project in January,” Verma said.

He said the completion of the project would make a huge difference and “there will be a total change in the situation in Kashmir”.

Verma said the work on the tunnel at Reasi, which was previously called as T-1 but is now known as T-33, is in its final stages and would be completed within a week.

“Track-laying work has been completed, and electrical work is currently underway. This is expected to be finished within a week. The CRS inspection will also be conducted in the next 15 days, after which the trains will run,” he added.

GM Verma visited several railway stations across the Valley to review operations and assess the ongoing infrastructure development.

The track work for the 3.2-km T-33, located at the foothills of Vaishno Devi and connecting Katra to Reasi, was completed last week ‘“ leading to the completion of the final 17-km stretch between Katra and Reasi which would allow the first direct train operation from Kashmir to Delhi.