A trial run of a cargo-loaded train was successfully conducted on the Katra-Reasi rail section, officials said.
They said the train was loaded with track ballast stones used on railway track lines.
Notably, the Commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle, New Delhi is visiting for statutory inspection of the Katra-Reasi rail section on January 5 and 6, in connection with the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line project.
The officer is visiting J&K for the final safety test of the Katra-Reasi section of the Kashmir rail project before its inaugural ceremony.
Sources say that Vande Bharat trains will start operations on the Kashmir-Kanyakumari later this month. This will be the first time that Kashmir Valley will be connected to the country’s rail grid.
It is in place to mention here that the Phase-I of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) Project, covering the 118-km-long Qazigund-Baramulla section, was inaugurated in October 2009. Subsequent phases included the inauguration of the 18-km-long Banihal-Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25-km-long Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014.
In February, the first electric train trial run on the Banihal-Katra section of the USBRL project was successfully conducted on approximately 40 km of track and tunnels between Banihal and Sangaldan Railway Stations in Ramban district.
The USBRL Project involves 38 tunnels with a combined length of 119 km. The longest tunnel, T-49, measures 12.75 km, making it the country’s longest transportation tunnel. The project also includes 927 bridges with a combined length of 13 km.
