Indian Railways will operationalize part of the nearly ₹40,000 crore Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla Rail Link, in Kashmir, with the Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express scheduled to begin operations soon.

Once operational, the USBRL will enable direct train services from Kashmir to Delhi, enhancing connectivity and bolstering economic growth in the region.

In the first phase, the Vande Bharat Express trains (chair cars) will connect Katra in Jammu to Srinagar in Kashmir covering a journey time of 3 hours and 10 minutes. This will be the first ever train connectivity between Jammu and Kashmir valley.

And post completion of station renovation at Jammu (also called Jammu Tawai), the Vande Bharat trains will run as per the originally announced route covering Jammu to Srinagar.

Specially Designed Trains

These Vande Bharat Express trains, as per a senior Railway official, are specially designed “with anti freezing features”, and can operate in temperatures that are as low as -20 degree Celsius. The trains have been enabled with snow removal systems, typically called as snow ploughs or snow blowers, thereby allowing for all weather operations.

The trains – passenger and freight trains operating along the route – will have advanced heating systems – that include silicon heating pads (to prevent freezing of water tanks), self-regulating heating cables prevent water freezing, embedded heating elements in windshield, anti-spall layers (to protect driver from impacts during extreme weather or unforeseen events), among others.

Safety Inspection

In a post on social media, X, Railways Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, final stages of safety inspection, by the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) has been carried out in the Katra – Banihal section of the Udhampur – Srinagar – Baramulla Rail Link segment

Of the 111 km long Katra – Banihal section, around 97 km of length is through tunnels and there are 7 km of bridges.

The route also features the world’s highest railway arch bridge.

To execute the project, about 215 km of road access was built, and the plan was first conceived in 2002.

Railways has used Anti-Vibration seismic devices in the project, as this region falls in zone-V earthquake vulnerability. These dampers will absorb the tremors in the Himalayan terrain and thus maintain faster and safer travel to the commuters

Other JV Issues.

A senior official said, design issues for the Vande Bharat Sleeper trains have been resolved. These longer-distance trains, set to begin production in late 2025, will feature finalized coach compositions and facilities.

The production contract for 200 Vande Bharat sleeper trains was awarded to Kinet Railway Solutions, BHEL, and Titagarh Rail Systems in 2023, while 10 trains were awarded to BEML and ICF.

Concerns over high-speed train procurement have also been addressed, the official said, adding that collaboration with Japanese counterparts are underway, and indigenized techniques for bullet train infrastructure will be used in future projects.