Kashmir rail project: High-speed electric train blitzes on Sangaldan-Khari track for trial run

Commissioner railways safety (CRS) Dinesh Chand Deshwal on Friday conducted a trolley trial run on a 19-km long rail track between Sangaldan to Sumber. It was followed up by a high-speed test for electric trains from Sangaldan to Khari in Ramban district.

“On the second day of his two-day visit to Banihal, the CRS on Friday inspected the tracks, tunnels, electrification, railway stations and allied infrastructure on the 19-km long rail track between Sangaldan and Sumber. On Thursday, he inspected the 15-km long Khari-Sumber rail track,” officials said.

Following an overnight stay at Sangaldan, the CRS on Friday conducted a high-speed test on an electric train from Sangaldan to Khari.

After two days of inspection and trial runs on Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan track, Deshwal left for Srinagar on Friday evening where he would attend a meeting with the senior officials of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, said officials.

It is being anticipated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may virtually inaugurate Chenab Rail Bridge and some sections of the rail track of the USBRL project.

On Thursday, the CRS had also inspected the track between Katra and Banihal.

The Khari-Sumbar-Sangaldan track is 33.42 km long, while the Khari-Sumber section runs for 13.6 km and Sumber-Sangaldan for 19.5 km. The USBRL project has a total length of 272 km.

In December last year, the Northern Railways had achieved a major project milestone with the breakthrough for the 3.2-km long Tunnel T-1 between Katra and Reasi railway stations.

The tunnel, located at the foothills of Trikuta Hills near Katra in Reasi district, was being constructed by Konkan Railway Corporation Limited for Northern Railways under the national projects.

The Indian Railways is edging closer to connect Kashmir Valley with the rest of the country’s railway network.