Indian Railways is planning to start Vande Bharat Express on the Jammu-Srinagar route soon, once the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL) is completed by December 2023 or January 2024, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said in his Jammu Confirmed on and Kashmir Yatra.
The semi-high speed train already operates on the Delhi-Mata Vaishno Devi, Katra route in the Jammu province of Jammu and Kashmir. Vande Bharat train will be operated between Jammu and Srinagar after the Udhampur-Baramulla rail link project becomes fully operational.
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project is an important railway line being built by the Indian Railways to connect the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India. While the train already runs to Udhampur, it is the last point in Jammu and Kashmir where the train can go from the rest of India. On the other hand, the 118 km Banihal-Baramulla railway line is functional in the Kashmir Valley.
Now, the Indian Railways is working to connect the Udhampur section with the Baramulla section by building the 114 km long Udhampur-Banihal link, which will include the Chenab bridge, the world’s highest railway bridge.
Recently, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav along with railway officials traveled on the first run of track-mounted trolley on the world’s highest arch bridge over river Chenab and inspected the iconic bridge which is 359 meters above the Chenab river bed.
Speaking on the progress of the work, he said that track work on Chenab bridge has been completed and now electrical work will be done besides installation of anti-collision protection device. He also said that Vande Bharat Express train maintenance facility will be set up at Budgam in Kashmir Valley and for the first time Vande Bharat Metro will run between Jammu and Srinagar cities.
“We are targeting to complete the Jammu-Srinagar connectivity by December or January,” Vaishnav said. He further added that Vande Bharat trains will run on the new USBRL on the route almost “for the first time”.
Vaishnav said, “Once the Kashmir Valley is connected to the Indian Railways network, it will make travel from Jammu to Srinagar faster and more comfortable for commuters. The new railway link is expected to take 3.5 hours to travel from Jammu to Srinagar.” Is.” The Vande Metro service will run between the cities of Srinagar and Jammu, with trains running at a specific frequency.
World’s highest railway bridge
The line will include the world’s highest railway bridge, which is being built over the Chenab river. Vaishnav said the iconic bridge with a foundation the size of half a football field is a “point of pride” and was a “difficult engineering challenge”. Built in highly active seismic zone.
Northern Railway officials said the arch bridge was constructed for Rs 1,486 crore. The deck height of the bridge is 359 metres, while its length is 1,315 metres.
He said that the arch bridge has 17 spans and the linear length of the main arch span is 460 meters and it is curved. The codal life of the bridge is 120 years and the bridge can withstand wind speed of 266 kmph, but train can cross the bridge at the speed of 100 kmph.
Vande Bharat Express Route
Route 1: New Delhi-Varanasi Vande Bharat Express
Route 2: New Delhi – Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (J&K) Vande Bharat Express
Route 3: Gandhinagar and Mumbai Vande Bharat Express
Route 4: New Delhi to Amb Andaura in Himachal Pradesh Vande Bharat Express
Route 5: Chennai-Mysore Vande Bharat Express
Route 6: Nagpur-Bilaspur Vande Bharat Express
Route 7: Howrah-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express
Route 8: Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Vande Bharat Express
Route 9: Mumbai-Sainagar Shirdi Vande Bharat Express
Route 10: Mumbai-Solapur Vande Bharat Express