JAMMU, June 28: Decks have been cleared for extension of train service from Banihal-Sangaldan section to Reasi as final trial of running train with a maximum speed on world’s highest Rail bridge on Chenab River was successfully conducted today.
Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) conducted successful trial of running train at the speed of 100 kilometers per hour on the Reasi- Sangaldan section of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project.
On the way, train passed through nine numbers of tunnels with a combined length of 40.787 Km and longest tunnel T-44 of 11.13 Km. The first ever train with a speed of 100 km/hour crossed over the iconic bridge between Dugga and Bakkal stations across the Chenab River, which is the world’s highest arch railway bridge.
After today’s successful trial following a series of such tests in the last few days, the Reasi-Sangaldan section would be open to run all train services which will be a monumental stride towards the seamless integration of the Kashmir valley with Jammu and the broader Indian landscape.
Expressing satisfaction over the successful trial run, Commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle, Dinesh Chand Deshwal said that all complexities and technical aspects were looked into and the data is being analyzed.
“After analyzing the data and looking into all the aspects, date for commencement of train service will be announced soon,” he added.
During the inspection, the CRS was accompanied by Chief Administrative Officer, Construction (USBRL Project, Northern Railway), Sandeep Gupta, officers of Northern and Konkan Railway.
272 Km long Railway Line from Udhampur to Baramulla joining the Kashmir valley with the Indian Railways network under Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) has been the most challenging works undertaken post-independence by Indian Railways.
The USBRL Project involves 38 Tunnels (combined length of 119Km), the longest Tunnel (T-49) is having a length of 12.75 Km and is country’s longest transportation tunnel. There are 927 numbers of Bridges (combined length of 13 Km). These bridges include the iconic Chenab Bridge (Overall length 1315 m, Arch span of 467 m and height of 359 m above river bed) which is around 35 metres taller than the Eiffel Tower and is pegged to be the world’s highest arch railway bridge.
On July 20, 2024, Railway had successfully conducted trial run of a MEMU train (8 coaches) on newly constructed Electrified line section (route length 46 kms) between Sangaldan in Ramban district and Reasi at a speed of 40 kmph.
The USBRL project, including the 48.1 km long Banihal-Sangaldan section, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 20, 2024. Phase I of the project, covering the 118 km long Qazigund-Baramulla section, was inaugurated in October 2009. Subsequent phases saw the inauguration of the 18 km long Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25 km long Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.
In February 2024, the first Electric Train trial run from Banihal to Khari to Sangaldan section on the Banihal-Katra section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project in Ramban was successfully conducted on around 40 km of track and tunnels between Banihal and Sangaldan Railway Stations in Ramban district.
