Northern Railway general manager Ashutosh Gangal said the work of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project is progressing fast and it will be complete by April 2023. The rail link will connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country.
The rail link is 111 km long and 58 km of it is going through a tunnel. In February, the Northern railway achieved success in completing the longest rail tunnel in the Katra-Banihal section.
The officials said the platforms and tracks are being built at a height of more than that of Qutub Minar. A train running at such a height is no less than a miracle. The bridge will also be supported by 96 cables of various lengths (82 m to 295 m). This will make the process of trains running fast in the Himalayan region safe.
The train will run at a speed of 100 km/hour on this stretch.
The Reasi railway station in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir is the final leg of the Jammu-Baramulla line. Concrete slabs have been laid at bridge number 39 built over a 105 ft gorge. The pillar in the middle is taller than Qutub Minar. The height of the pylon above the foundation is 193 metre. The bridge is 331 metres above sea level.
The structure is earthquake-resistant.
As of now, Pylon work has been completed and the deck is being constructed. This deck will have 15 metre wide composite steel slabs having a depth of ten metre. The first phase involves the casting of a 196.25-meter-long deck with a continuous cast of 370 metric tonnes of reinforced steel and 900 cusecs of concrete.
Once the project is completed, direct train services will start from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. It was declared a national project in 2022.