People's Woes Continue as Jammu _Kashmir Rail Project Gets Delayed

Udhampur-Baramulla Railway Link: 64% work on last stretch completed

Nearly 64% of the work on the Katra-Banihal stretch has been completed, and by 2022-23 it will connect valley to the rest of the country, reveals an RTI reply.

Office of the Chief Administrative Officer (Construction), USBRL project, Northern Railway has divulged that out of the total length of 272 kms of the Udhampur-Baramulla railway line, work has been completed and commissioned in 161 kms, which accounts for nearly 60% of the whole project, while the work on remaining 111 kms long Katra-Banihal section is under progress.

View: RTI Reply concerning USBRL Project

 “At present, approx 64% work on Katra-Banihal section has been completed. The revised target for the completion of the USBRL project is in FY 2022-23 and it will be achieved with the cooperation of the local government to resolve local issues and control law and order situations,” Matin Ahmed, CPIO, USBRL, Northern Railway says in reply to an RTI filed by Jammu based RTI activist Raman Sharma.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal had also announced in Rajya Sabha on 17 March 2020 that before August 2022, that is, when India will be celebrating its 75th Independence Day, Banihal to Katra link will be completed, and Kanyakumari will be connected to Baramulla through rail.

The ongoing work on Katra-Banihal stretch is being executed by three agencies, namely Northern Railway (5 kms), Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (53 kms), IRCON International Limited (53 kms).

Further, the RTI reply says, “The section estimated cost of USBRL Project is Rs 27,949 Crores, and the total cumulative expenditure upto February 2020 is Rs 20,717 Crores.”

Raman Sharma remarks, “The wait to ride a train from Jammu to Kashmir and vice versa is getting longer and also accelerating the cost of the project. People have been looking forward to the completion of railway line for years as Jammu-Srinagar National Highway closure due to several reasons and its proneness to accidents causes much displeasure.”

View: USBRL Project Official Website

The Government had announced in principle decision to construct the railway line from Udhampur to Baramulla via Srinagar in 1994. The original year of completion for the project was 2007, but due to geological and logistical issues, the revised date of completion is Financial year 2022-2023, mentions RTI reply.

According to the authorities, this project is, perhaps, the most difficult new railway line project undertaken on Indian subcontinent. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems – one of the reasons for high cost of the project and its delayed completion.

As per the RTI reply, Udhampur-Katra leg (25 kms) was sanctioned in 1995 and commissioned in July 2014, Qazigund-Baramulla leg (118 kms) was sanctioned in 1999 and commissioned in October 2009.

Work on the last and most difficult leg Katra-Qazigund (129 kms), which was sanctioned in 1991, is under progress as Banihal-Qazigund section (18 kms) has been commissioned in June 2013, while the work on the last section Katra-Banihal is ongoing.

About 345 kms long Jammu-Udhampur-Katra-Qazigund-Baramulla Railway Line project, declared as a project of National Importance in March 2002, was planned with a view to provide an alternative and a reliable transportation system to Jammu & Kashmir and its far-flung areas, besides employment generation, provide connectivity, mitigate militancy, and stimulate development. It is claimed to be the biggest project in the construction of a mountain railway since independence.