Jammu
Railway Safety Commissioner (CRS) D C Deshwal is set to conduct a comprehensive two-day inspection of the 46-km Sangaldan-Reasi section later this month, including the world’s highest steel arch rail bridge over Chenab and several major tunnels, as per an official announcement on Sunday.
According to Deepak Kumar, Chief Public Relations Officer of Northern Railway, the commissioning of this crucial segment of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL) hinges upon CRS’s inspection scheduled for June 27 and 28.
The USBRL project, spanning 272 km in total, has seen phased commissioning of 209 km so far. The initial phase included the Qazigund-Baramulla section (118 km) in October 2009, followed by the Banihal-Qazigund stretch (18 km) in June 2013, Udhampur-Katra (25 km) in July 2014, and the Banihal-Sangaldan segment (48.1 km) in February this year.
Once the 46 km Sangaldan-Reasi section is operational, only a 17 km stretch between Reasi and Katra remains to be completed. This final stretch is expected to be finished by the end of the year, thereby connecting Kashmir with the national railway network a long-awaited project that commenced in 1997 and faced numerous delays due to geological, topographical, and meteorological challenges.
Official sources indicated that the inaugural run of the first train from Sangaldan to Reasi is anticipated on June 30, marking a significant milestone in linking Jammu’s Reasi district with Kashmir via rail.
