Farooq Abdullah, the head of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, rode the Vande Bharat train from Novam railway station in Srinagar to Katra.
The NOWGAM railway station is an important part of the Utampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project, which connects Kashmir to Jammu region and the rest of India.
Talking to reporters, Farooq Abdullah expressed his happiness and called this train “a huge blessing” for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that people of JK and tourists will benefit greatly from the train.
The National Conference Head said, “I am very happy that I am traveling to Katra in this train. It is a huge blessing for us and is going to benefit tourists a lot. It is difficult to travel by road, and prices for air travel are very high. This train is very beneficial to us.”
On June 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off two Wande Bharat Express trains from Katra railway station, connecting the Jammu division with Kashmir directly.
The New Vande Bharat Express train will take about three hours to travel between Katra and Srinagar, reduce the current journey time by two to three hours.
These trains are especially designed to operate under the cold climatic conditions of the Kashmir Valley.
The train will run through the Anji Khad Bridge, which is India’s first cable-sted railway bridge and Chenb Bridge, the world’s highest railway arch bridge.
The Prime Minister also inaugurated the world’s tallest railway Arch Bridge-‘Chenb Railway Bridge’ and India’s first cable-set ‘Fort Bridge’ in Rasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. It is a major milestone in the railway connectivity of Jammu and Kashmir.
Architectural Marvel Chenab Rail Bridge is the world’s highest railway arch bridge located 359 meters from the river. It is a 1,315 m tall steel arc bridge which is an engineer to face seismic and air conditions. The bridge will have a major impact in increasing connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar.
All these projects are part of the ambitious Bitur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
The USBRL project is 272 km long, which is constructed around Rs 43,780 crore, including 36 tunnels (extending up to 119 km) and 943 bridges.
The project establishes all weather, spontaneous rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, aiming to change regional mobility and run socio-economic integration. (AI)
