In a significant boost to connectivity between the Kashmir valleY and Jammu region, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on June 26, 2013 inaugurated the 17.7-km-long Banihal-Qazigund section of the ambitious mountain railway. Dr. Singh flagged off the first train and boarded it for a journey across the 11.2- km tunnel, the longest in the country, through the Pir Panjal ranges.
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh addressing the gathering at the inauguration of the Tianihal-Qa^igund section of the Kashmir Valley Railway on June 26, 2013. The section has been constructed at a cost of about Rs. 1,700 crore.
The Banihal-Qazigund section, which reduces the 35-km distance by road by half, was constructed at a cost of about Rs. 1,700 crore. The Udhampur-Katra- Banihal section, which will connect the Kashmir valley with the rest of the country’s rail network, is expected to be completed by 2017. People from Banihal can now reach Qazigund in just 12 minutes by train. At present, it takes about an hour and 15 minutes by road to commute between the two places.
The Kashmir Valley Railway is a 119-km-long modern railway line that became completely operational in 2009. So far it is an island railway, not yet connected to the Indian Railway network. It connects Baramulla in the western part of Kashmir to Qazigund at the other end of the valley, via Srinagar.
During his visit, Dr. Singh also laid the foundation stone of the 850 MW Ratle power project on die river Chenab. The project, which is estimated to cost Rs. 5,500 crore, is India’s first hydel power project that was bid out through tariff-based international competitive bidding. The scheduled deadline of the project is February 2018.
( Highlights }
★ The Banihal-Qazigund section, which reduces the 35-km distance by road to half, was constructed at a cost of about Rs. 1,700 crore.
★ The section will cut travel time for commuters by more than an hour.
★ A part of the section is 11.2-km tunnel, the longest in the country.
★ Dr. Singh also laid the foundation stone of the 850 MW Rade power project on the river Chenab.
★ Rade is India’s first hydel power project that was bid out through tariff-based international competitive bidding.