Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat metro: Train service to start after completion of USB Rail Link, details revealed

The Kashmir Valley will be connected to the national railways network by the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link Project (USBRL). The flagship project is expected to be finished by December 2023 or January 2024. Once complete, the vital rail link will soon facilitate the journey for the first Vande Bharat train in J-K. 

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed last week that a Vande Bharat metro train will run between Jammu and Srinagar after the USBRL project is fully operational. Vaishnaw was in the valley inspecting the Chenab bridge, which is the world’s highest arch bridge with a height of 359 metres from the riverbed. It has a length of 1,315 metres.

Work for laying the track on the bridge is now complete and the electric work will be done next. Indigenously built anti-collision safety device - Kavach - will also be installed. A Vande Bharat Express train maintenance facility will come up at Badgam. The train will cross the bridge at speeds of 100 kmph. 

“We are targeting that until December or January, Jammu-Srinagar connectivity is completed," Vaishnaw said. He added that Vande Bharat trains will operate on USBRL in the “first go”. The link will cut the travel time between Jammu and Srinagar. Journey via the new railway link is expected to take 3.5 hours between Jammu and Srinagar, the union minister added. 

(Inputs from PTI)