Udhampur-Baramulla rail link tough project: Minister

New Delhi, December 20

The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project is perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in the country post Independence, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.

“The USBRL project is perhaps the most difficult new railway line project undertaken in the country post Independence. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems,” Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

Generating jobs

• Responding to questions in Parliament, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said 553 lakh man-days of indirect employment had been generated by the project.
• Of the total 272 km of the project, 161 km had already been commissioned, he said.

Vaishnaw was responding to questions raised by three BJP MPs, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Bidyut Baran Mahato and Jugal Kishore Sharma, who asked the minister to provide details of the steps taken to extend the railway network in J&K and how the said expansion was benefiting local communities and businesses.

“The work of the new line in J&K is being undertaken under the USBRL project. Out of the total 272 km of the project, 161 km has already been commissioned,” Vaishnaw said. Talking about the challenges in the project, the railway minister said the Katra-Banihal section predominantly involved tunnelling. According to him, 97.42 km out of 111 km, which is 87 per cent of the total length of Katra-Banihal section, is in tunnels and the maximum length of tunnel T-49 is 12.77 km, which will be the longest transportation railway tunnel in the country. “Railways has made the world’s highest railway bridge over Chenab river in Reasi district. The iconic Chenab Bridge is 1,315 metres long having arch span of 467 metre and height of 359 metre above river bed,” Vaishnaw said.