PM Modi to virtually inaugurate Jammu Railway Division on Jan 6

Jammu, Jan 3: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually inaugurate Jammu Railway Division on January 6, from the union capital.

The inauguration of the newly-created Jammu Railway Division, meeting a long-pending demand, comes ahead of the launch of the much-awaited direct train service to Kashmir by or before January 26 this year.

As per official sources, the Prime Minister is likely to inaugurate the Jammu Railway Division through video-conferencing besides laying the foundation of the Rayagada Railway Division in Odisha and inaugurating Charlapalli New Terminal Station in Telangana by pressing remote from New Delhi during the same function at around 12.30 pm or so.

In Jammu, the function will also be attended and addressed by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha; Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Member Parliament, Jammu, Jugal Kishore Sharma besides the General Manager, Northern Railways and other senior officers.

Presently Jammu comes under Firozpur Railway Division of Northern Railway.

As per official sources, ahead of the (virtual) inauguration of the Jammu Railway Division by the Prime Minister, the Union Railway Minister is likely to come to Srinagar by air.

On January 5, the Railway Minister will have an inspection of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) section and Srinagar Railway Station. On January 5, a special inspection train will run from Srinagar to Jammu.

Meanwhile, the proposed inspection visit of the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) too has been revised. Now CRS will visit on January 7 and 8, 2025 for safety inspection of the Katra-Reasi section of the USBRL project.

“On January 7 and 8, CRS Dinesh Chand Deshwal will inspect the Reasi-Katra section of the USBRL project,” official sources said.

Officially speaking, the Jammu Railway Division, with its headquarters at Jammu, has been created by restructuring Firozpur.

As per an official communiqué of the Railway Ministry, Jammu Railway Division will comprise five sections – Bhogpur Sirwal-Pathankot; Batala-Pathankot; Pathankot-Joginder Nagar; Pathankot-Jammu- Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan Udhampur Railway Station and Srinagar-Baramulla.

The combined length of the section will be 742.1 km.

Presently, there are 17 Railway zones and 68 divisions across the country.

Notably on December 19 last year, a delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jammu (JCCI), led by the Union Minister of State in PMO, Jitendra Singh met the Union Minister for Railway Union Minister for Railway, Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw in the union capital.

There is major trepidation among the industrialists and traders in Jammu apprehending a major slump in the region’s economy after the proposed commissioning of a direct train from New Delhi to Srinagar in January 2025, besides other issues.

While interacting with Vaishnaw, the Jammu Chamber extended gratitude to him (Vaishnaw) for accepting the long pending demand for developing Jammu as a Railway Division.

JCCI President Arun Gupta points out that Jammu Railway Division will not only streamline the running of trains but will also open new avenues of employment for the local youths.

The Chamber, however, has requested that a comprehensive plan with sufficient funds be envisaged for the completion of this project at the earliest. Final jurisdiction(s) vis-à-vis division has to be decided after the Detailed Project Report.

Gupta, during the Chamber delegation’s meeting last month, had apprised the Union Railway Minister that for the survival of ancillary units, there was an urgent need to establish a Rail Coach repair factory in Jammu to generate employment opportunities for the youth in the region.

“Besides this, given the upcoming Maha Kumbh Mela, a direct train between Jammu-Prayagraj and vice versa daily should be started,” the JCCI president had demanded.

The Minister for Railway had stated that J&K was currently “experiencing un-precedent development, massive infrastructure projects are transforming the Union Territory contributing significantly for its overall growth and prosperity.”