Direct train to Kashmir: Jammu-Srinagar travel time to shrink to 3 hours

Jammu, Jan 8: Jammu and Srinagar will soon be closer as the travel time between them will be merely 3 hours and 10 minutes.

This is to become reality very soon as an 8-coach Jammu Srinagar Vande Bharat Express between Katra to Srinagar will start running soon.

“Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat train is specially designed with anti-freezing features. The snow removal train, moving ahead of passenger and freight trains, will make sure that trains on this strategic route run all through the year, day and night. This will ensure all-weather connectivity between both regions. To give passengers a comfortable and safe travel experience,” officials said.

“Railways have used anti-vibration seismic devices in the project as this region falls in Zone-V earthquake vulnerability. These dampers will absorb the tremors in the Himalayan terrain and thus maintain faster and safer travel to the commuters,” they said.

According to officials, the Vande Bharat Express running in Kashmir is different from the Vande Bharat Express running across the country.

It is specially designed to operate smoothly in extreme cold conditions as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius.

To ensure comfort for passengers and drivers, the train is equipped with advanced heating systems.

The driver’s cabin features a heated windshield to prevent it from fogging up or freezing, ensuring clear visibility in extreme temperatures.

“Further the train has heating elements in the plumbing and bio-toilets to prevent water from freezing, ensuring that essential systems continue to function during cold weather,” officials said.

With the commencement of the final safety inspection of the 111-km long Banihal-Katra section in the newly-constructed Jammu Division, the rail commuters, as per the officials, can expect a world-class travel experience on this route from later this year as Jammu station is being redeveloped for equipping it with eight platforms and modern amenities.

With this transformation, the long wait for train connectivity between Kashmir and Jammu will be over.

The completion of the Banihal-Katra section has been an engineering marvel in which 97 km of length is a tunnel and 7 km of distance is covered by 4 main bridges.

The toughest challenge in the project was to give foundation support to the world’s highest arch bridge (359 m) on the Chenab River.

It was achieved by a rock bolting method using 30,000 tonnes of steel.

The other main challenge was to build India’s first cable-stayed bridge on the Anji River.

The two other bridges on the section are the Reasi Bridge and Bakkal Bridge.

“While executing the project, Railways engineers innovated the technique of Himalayan tunnelling over conventional tunnelling methods to overcome safety concerns and give strength to main as well as 67 km of escape tunnels. The tunnels have a completely ballastless track as is used on the metro tracks with no joints. The longest tunnel in this section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project - T50 is 12.77 km in length,” officials said.

As per the officials, cameras are placed every 50 metres in the tunnels to keep an eye on safety and operational data.

These cameras are connected to a state-of-the-art central control room.

Railways have also built 215 km of roads in the region to access the project sites, which is benefiting local people, officials said.