Vande Bharat train to Kashmir marks fruition of 1898 dream

India has undertaken one of its most formidable railway projects to date in its bid to establish a rail link between Udhampur in Jammu division and Kashmir Valley, which passes through the Himalayan foothills. The upcoming Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) is one of the most challenging and ambitious railway links in the world.

The railway link to Kashmir will provide alternative and reliable connectivity between Jammu & Kashmir and the rest of the country. USBRL is the only railway link in India’s high mountain ranges that has been laid out in broad gauge. The 345-km extension of the Indian Railway network will allow a 900-km direct train journey from Delhi to Srinagar. USBRL crosses earthquake-prone zones and areas beset with extreme cold and hot temperatures, combined with the most challenging topography.

Till now, the idea of connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of India had only remained a dream. The project is said to have been mooted in 1898 by the British to the Maharaja of J&K. It was floated again in 1902 and 1904, but never took off.

In 1994, then Railway Minister in the Narasimha Rao-led Government, Jaffer Sharief, spoke of laying a rail link connecting the Valley. However, it was under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that it finally assumed the status of a national project.

USBRL is built as per the Indian standard gauge of 1,676 mm, laid on concrete sleepers with continuous welded rail and a minimum curve radius of 676m. The maximum line speed is 100 kmph. It is little wonder that to realise this dream, the world’s highest railway bridge, taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris, had to be constructed at a whopping cost of about Rs 1,400 crore.

The bridge, known as the Chenab Bridge is 359 metres tall and since it is constructed in seismic zone IV, it is designed to withstand an earthquake of the magnitude of 8 on the Richter scale. The total estimated cost of the USBRL is over Rs 37,000 crore and the length of the railway link is 272 kms. The rail link has 38 tunnels whose combined length is 119 kms.

The longest of these tunnels called T-49 has a length of 12.75 kms and is India’s longest transportation tunnel. There are a total of 927 bridges with a combined length of 13 kms.

The first train will chug out from Udhampur to Srinagar and then on to Baramulla in March this year. The availability of rail transport to and from the Valley to the rest of India will change the face of Kashmir’s economy.

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Courtesy: The Daily Tribune: 8th January, 2024