(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar- Indian Railways has achieved a historic milestone with the successful completion of a high-speed trial on the challenging 180-degree climb from Katra to Banihal under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail LINK (USBRL) project.
This development, conducted under adverse conditions, marks a major step towards connecting the Kashmir Valley with the rest of India via a direct rail link.
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A new chapter was written in Indian Railway history with a successful“rising grade” speed trial in the challenging terrain from Jammu and Kashmir's Katra to Banihal along the USBRL project, a top official said on Wednesday.
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The remarks by the Northern Circle's Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) Dinesh Chand Deshwal offer a positive indication for an early start to direct rail services between Kashmir and the rest of the country.
However, he said they would analyse the data collected after completion of the two-day statutory inspection later in the day before the Centre might take a decision to start the much-awaited service.
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Talking to reporters on reaching Banihal after the successful high-speed trial run from Katra station, Deshwal said his team would return to Katra and all the collected data would be analysed before a decision was taken on the start of direct train services to Kashmir.
“The trial run at 110 kilometres per hour on the 180-degree rising grade in such a challenging geography from Katra to Banihal has written a new chapter in the history of the Railways. The trial run was smooth and filled us with a sense of fulfilment and the credit for it goes to our engineers who have done such great work,” the CRS said.
The trial train left Katra station at 10:30 am and reached Banihal station within one-and-a-half hours. The train left for Katra on its return journey at 2 pm and reached its destination at 3:30 pm.
This was the final speed trial run on the trek.
Deshwal, who reached Katra on a two-day statutory inspection of the newly completed railway line, said the Centre would take the final decision on the start of services between Kashmir and the rest of the country.
“I am not in a position to talk about it (start of services). The statutory inspection will be completed by this evening and all the gathered data analysed in accordance with guidelines of the Northern Railway,” he said.
The CRS said the inspection and the trial run on the trek had been satisfactory so far.
“Our infrastructure is outstanding and very soon a fair decision will be taken based on our report,” he added.
On reaching Katra, Deshwal said the speed trial run on the falling gradient from Banihal to Katra was also satisfactory.
“It was fully successful on both sides...the train also passed through T-30 (tunnel-30) at a speed of 110 kmph. This tunnel posed some challenges during the construction process but the engineers overcame the technical solutions and made the track alignment precisely fit for this speed,” he said.
Last month, Rail Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced the completion of the Reasi-Katra section, an important development for connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country after nearly three decades of work.
On January 4, a successful trial run of an electric train was conducted on the Katra-Banihal section. The Railways have conducted six trial runs over the past month on various segments of the track, including the two major milestones of the Anji Khad and Chenab bridges.
Of the total 272-kilometre Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, 209 kilometres were commissioned in phases.
Officials said the dream project to link Kashmir by train was started in 1997 and missed several deadlines due to geological, topographical and meteorological challenges.
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