The Northern Railway has issued a letter to all Principal Heads of Departments (PHODs), asking them to appoint junior administrative officers in the Kashmir Valley in another ten days for a smooth takeover from a construction firm that is done building a key railway section.
“Train service in Sangaldan-Srinagar-Baramulla section is functional and shortly section between Sangaldan-SVDK (Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra) is likely to be commissioned thereby connecting Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country,” a letter dated May 29, 2024 of the General Manager of the Northern Railways, said.
It added, “As such, it is very essential that competent officers are posted at Srinagar/Budgam to look after the operation and maintenance of the section and ensure smooth taking over of the section from the Construction Organisation.”
In view of these developments, it asked all PHODs “to post competent JAG (junior administrative grade) officers in the valley within the next 10 days.”
According to railway sources, preparations are on to start the train run on the Sangaldan-SVDK section by December 2024.
“We want to take all precautions before starting the operations as there are still some challenges in the T1 tunnel between Katra and Reasi Stations which we are trying to resolve,” a railway official said.
The Northern Railway, which completed T1 on December 20, 2023, had earlier in a press release said that the Tunnel T1, formerly recognised as the “most challenging tunnel” due to its passage through the Himalayan Main Boundary Thrust, presented formidable geological challenges, such as a rugged terrain and substantial water inflow from within the tunnel.
In February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 48.1 km-long Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan section after which train operation began from Baramulla to Sangaldan via Banihal, which used to be the last, or originating, station earlier.
Modi also flagged off the first electric trains of the Kashmir valley.
The inauguration was crucial as the longest transportation tunnel of the country, the 12.77 km-long T-50 tunnel, is on the Khari-Sumber section.
According to experts associated with the project, the first section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) — the Baramulla-Qazigund section — had become operational under the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government in 2009.
Four years later, in July 2013, the train service was extended from Qazigund to Banihal with the operationalisation of the Qazigund-Banihal section, which included the 11.2-km-long T-80 Pir Panjal tunnel.
“The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) station is already connected to various parts of the country and once this Sangaldan-SVDK section is opened, the Kashmir Valley will get connected with the rest of the country,” a railway official said.
“We are close to achieving the dream of running a train from the Kashmir valley in the north to Kanyakumari on the southern tip of the country,” he said.