Railways invites tourist to ride into the winter with style

New Delhi: Snow bound for a significant part of the year, the valley of Kashmir is aptly termed as the Switzerland of the country. But access to the scenic Kashmir Valley in winter times was still a distant dream for tourists, with closure of road connectivity through Jawahar Tunnel in winter season owing to heavy snow fall. Blending convenience and comfort, Indian Railways has ushered in seamless connectivity knitting the Kashmir

valley region to the rest of the country through special DEMU trains.

Dawn of a new era through Indian Railways Network:

What began, as a grand dream project, to connect this spectacular valley of India to the rest of the country is a reality today. The Indian Railways have kept up their promise through a well executed phase wise program.

With dogged determination, the USBRL team (Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) from Railways has been steadily completing the 326 km. long Railway Line joining the Kashmir Valley with the Indian Railways network in phase-wise program and heralding all-weather connectivity in the region of the country which is cut off from the rest of the country in cold winters.

The Project has been declared as a Project of National Importance. It passes through the young Himalayas, tectonic thrusts and faults and is the most challenging rail constructions in the world.

Rail Network in the Kashmir Valley:

In planned phases, the Railway commissioned Anantnag to Mazhom (68 KM) section first, followed by Mazhom to Baramulla (32 KM). Subsequently the commissioning of the Quazigund to Anantnag (18 km) brought in the benefits of access and connectivity to residents in the Kashmir Valley region.

Further on, the commissioning of the longest rail tunnel, the Pir Panjal Tunnel marked a turning point in the history of J & K railway.

Pir Panjal Tunnel:

This tunnel, 11.2 Km long also called the Tunnel T-80 is the longest transportation tunnel built through the state-of-the art technology.

It pierces through the Pir Panjal mountain range and now affords a viable alternative to the transportation needs of the people of Jammu to the valley of Kashmir through the all-weather rail transportation mode. It took 7 years and 5 months to complete, with 150 engineers and 1300 field personnel working around the clock. More than 3 lakh cubic m of concrete and 7,500 metric tonnes of steel were used for its construction.