Final survey for Sopore-Kupwara train begins

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, February 25

In a significant development, the final location survey of the train to frontier district of Kupwara has begun.

The district administration of Kupwara has initiated the process by requesting the latest necessary data from various district offices. This data is crucial for conducting the ‘Final Location Survey’ (FLS), a major step in the project undertaken by the railway authorities for the extension of around 33.7 km-long rail line from Sopore to Kupwara under the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.

“The Deputy Chief Engineer, C-II, Northern Railway, USBRL Project, Banihal, has conveyed that Northern Railway is conducting the Final Location Survey (FLS) for extending the railway line from Sopore to Kupwara. An assessment of the anticipated traffic on this proposed new line has to be made as a part of the project report which will help in deciding the requisite infrastructure at various stations,” reads the communique.

“Now therefore, you (officials concerned) are requested to provide latest data pertaining to your respective departments with regard to the population of the towns in the project area and the transportation requirement for various commodities, i.e, foodgrain, fertiliser, cement, diesel, petrol, steel, etc., for the project area,” it states, adding “this requires your personal attention and needs to be submitted to this Office (ADC Office) within three days positively”.

The Central Government approved a 39-km-long extension of the railway line from Baramulla to Kupwara in November 2018. A revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the line was submitted in July 2020.

In October 2023, the railway ministry sanctioned a survey for a railway line that will connect Kupwara to the country’s rail network. The 33.7-km Sopore-Kupwara alignment is one of five rail lines in J&K that are being ordered for final surveys. The other lines include doubling the Baramulla-Banihal section (135.5 km) and Baramulla-Uri (50 km).

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