Nishikant Khajuria
KATRA, June 6: Railway Minister Ashwani Vaishnaw today said that the dream of connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country through a railway link has become a reality due to the determination and sharp focus of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The nation had cherished the dream of this railway line for decades. There were great challenges in its construction, such as tall mountains and deep valleys. Instead of trying to conquer nature, working in harmony with nature, this railway line has become a reality today through this network of bridges and tunnels. This was made possible due to the steely determination, hard work and laser-sharp focus of our Prime Minister,” he said at the inauguration of the Vande Bharat train to Kashmir from Katra today.
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Referring to the inauguration of Udhampur -Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project by PM Modi, Vaishnaw said it was a historic day as another jewel has been added to Maa Bharti’s crown.
Earlier, sharing notable features of the USBRL project in a post on X, Vaishnaw described the project as a “remarkable feat of engineering,” emphasising that it includes “India’s longest transportation tunnel, T-50,” which is 12.77 km long and located between Khari and Sumber.
Additionally, the rail link features India’s second-longest transportation tunnel, T-80 (11.22 km), known as the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, situated between Banihal and Qazigund. “India’s 3rd longest railway tunnel T-44 stretches over 11.13 Km; between Sawalkote-Sangaldan,” he added.
Vaishnaw highlighted that the project involves the construction of 36 main tunnels with a total length of 119.6 km, along with eight escape tunnels totalling 66.4 km.
He also outlined the details of the Chenab Bridge, which is the world’s highest railway arch bridge, which measures 1.3 km in length and stands at a height of 359 metres —35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower. The construction involved over 600 km of steel welding, exceeding the length of the railway track from Jammu to Delhi.
Vaishnaw took the opportunity to showcase the iconic Anji Bridge, which is India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge. 725.5 metres in length, the bridge is balanced on the axis of a single central pylon and the height of a single pylon is 193 m from the top of the foundation.
Remarkably, all 96 stay cables were installed within just 11 months, with a total length of 653 km— more than the distance from Jammu to Delhi.
“Advanced construction technique was specifically adapted to the complex geological and seismic conditions of the Himalayan region – Himalayan Tunneling Method,” his post read.
Another significant feature, the Minister shared, was the ‘all weather train movement’ – the installation of ‘ice cutter’ in Vande Bharat trains to clear snow from tracks, ensuring reliable all-weather train movement.
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