Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Saturday stated that the railway line connecting Kashmir Valley with the remainder of the nation will be completed this year. He additional stated that the particular ‘Vande Bharat’ trains will chug within the Union Territory next year.
Addressing a press convention on the Srinagar railway station within the Nowgam space right here, he stated the Udhampur-Banihal observe, connecting Jammu with Srinagar, will be completed by December this year, or early next year. “There is a good progress on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail line. The work on the Chenab and Anji bridges, and major tunnels is also going and there is a good progress. By the grace of God, the train will chug on this route in December this year or January-February next year,” Vaishnaw stated.
He stated a specifically designed ‘Vande Bharat’ practice is being developed for this line. “Everything like temperature, snow, has been kept in mind while manufacturing this special train. Once the railway line is opened, you will have the ‘Vande Bharat’ train in the middle of 2024,” he stated. Asked in regards to the delay in finishing the challenge, the Union minister stated there was much less funding earlier than Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over in 2014. “The cost of the project is Rs 35,000 crore. They used to get only Rs 700-800 crores per year. So, after Modi came to power, he doubled it. Then tripled it and now has increased the funding six times of what it was,” Vaishnaw stated.
He stated this year, Rs 6,000 crore has been allotted for the railway challenge in J-Okay within the funds. Vaishnaw stated there have been technical causes for the delay as effectively. “The Himalayas are the young mountains which means they are soft and tunnelling work is very difficult,” he stated. However, all large challenges have now been completed and all of the troublesome works have been performed, he added. Describing the Chenab railway bridge as an engineering marvel, the minister stated it is without doubt one of the highest bridges on the earth and the very best railway bridge within the nation.
“It is larger than the Eiffel Tower…All the assessments have been performed and all have been profitable. High-velocity winds, excessive temperature, earthquake-prone space, hydrological influence — all the things has been studied intimately. Now, the bridge is prepared for operation, prepared for commissioning. The observe laying work is on. This is the best factor for J-Okay, he stated. The Union railway minister stated the Anji bridge will be additionally completed by August this year and after fine-tuning works, it’ll be accessible for commissioning by September this year.
He stated 41 segments out of the 47 have already been launched, including the entire challenge could be very complicated. Crediting Modi for remodeling the railways throughout the nation, Vaishnaw stated this year, the Railways is laying a observe of 13 kilometres per day, which is a file. “This speed of work has been witnessed for the first time after independence under the able leadership of Modi,” he stated. He stated electrical practice will be inaugurated in J-Okay very quickly because the electrification work has been completed.
The minister stated calls for have been acquired for connecting three areas — Sopore-Kupwara, Awantipora-Shopian, and Bijbehara-Pahalgam — with the railway line, and the Railways will focus on it. “We will discuss this with J-K LG, and then with Union Home minister (Amit Shah) and Prime Minister (Narendra Modi),” he added. He stated Modi needs to give the nation’s and the world’s finest amenities and infrastructure to J-Okay. “We are working in that direction.”
“He (Modi) is strongly determined to increase and improve the railway network in J-K,” Vaishnaw stated. The minister additionally stated the railways has began a parcel reserving facility in Srinagar, alongside with the Department of Posts, to ship merchandise by reserving parcels from right here to completely different components of the nation. “We will take it up on a large scale in the days to come, especially when the railway line is completed,” he stated. Vaishnaw stated about 750 ‘one station-one product’ stalls have been put up at railway stations throughout the nation.
“These stalls have unique products of the area which can be sent to every corner of the country,” he added. There are 146 Gati-Shakti cargo terminals throughout the nation for dealing with rail cargo and I’ve directed the officers to develop three to 4 on the Banihal-Baramulla line, the minister stated. Vaishnaw, who can also be the minister of Communications and Electronics and Information Technology, stated each village and metropolis in J and Okay may have a telecom facility. J&Okay, and Ladakh may have seamless connectivity. About 500 new cell towers have been sanctioned for Ladakh and shortly they’ll have good 4G/5G connectivity, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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