PM Modi to virtually inaugurate Jammu Railway Division today

Jammu, Jan 5: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a key move to further boost connectivity in the region, will inaugurate the new Jammu Railway Division tomorrow at 12.30 pm via video conferencing.

The inauguration will take place in the presence of Union Minister of State in PMO, Jitendra Singh at Jammu Tawi Railway Station.

Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Member of Parliament Jugal Kishore Sharma, other dignitaries of Northern Railway and senior officers of civil and police administration will also attend the event in Jammu.

Creation of the Jammu Railway Division, with a 742.1 km length, comprising Pathankot-Jammu-Udhampur; Srinagar-Baramulla; Bhogpur Sirwal-Pathankot; Batala- Pathankot and Pathankot to Joginder Nagar sections, will, officially speaking, “significantly benefit Jammu and Kashmir and surrounding regions.”

This also aims at fulfilling the long-pending aspiration of the people, particularly the trading community and improving connectivity to other parts of India.

Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Jammu, Rajiv Kumar Singh, while speaking to media, said, “New Railway Division in Jammu was notified by the Railway Board earlier this week. Its inauguration is taking place tomorrow virtually by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the circulating area of Jammu Railway Station.”

“New division will create employment opportunities, infrastructure development, promote tourism and lead to the overall socio-economic development of the region. A Detailed Project Report will be prepared for it (division) to be submitted to the Railway Board to take the final decision about its jurisdiction,” he said.

Presently Jammu comes under Firozpur Railway Division of Northern Railway. Jammu Railway Division, with its headquarters at Jammu, has been created by restructuring Firozpur. Presently, there are 17 Railway zones and 68 divisions across the country.

Inauguration of the newly-created Jammu Railway Division is taking place ahead of the launch of the much-awaited direct train service to Kashmir later this month for which intense safety trial runs are in progress.

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.

Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) Dinesh Chand Deshwal will visit on January 7 and 8, 2025 for a safety inspection of the Katra-Reasi section of the USBRL project.

Besides, the Jammu Railway division, the Prime Minister will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone of a few other railway projects also virtually tomorrow.

He will also inaugurate the Charlapalli New Terminal Station in Telangana and lay the foundation stone of the Rayagada Railway Division Building of East Coast Railway.

Charlapalli New Terminal Station in the Medchal-Malkajgiri District of Telangana has been developed as a new coaching terminal along with the provision of a second entry with a cost of around Rs 413 crore.

“This environment-friendly terminal, having good passenger amenities, will ease congestion on the existing coaching terminals in the city like Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Kacheguda,” officials said.

The Prime Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the Rayagada Railway Division Building of East Coast Railway. “It will improve connectivity in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and nearby areas and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region,” officials said.