Years of hard work and dedication, and some engineering surprises later, the dream of Kashmir’s rail connectivity finally came true as the specially designed Vande Bharat Express arrived here on Saturday, completing its trial run.
The train, during its first trial, arrived at Srinagar station in Nowgam area on the outskirts of the city from Katra in Jammu. It had reached Jammu on Friday.
As the Vande Bharat Express arrived at the station at 11:30 am, it was greeted with slogans and praises from the Indian Railways.
A large number of people and railway officials were waiting for the train since morning, many of them carrying garlands to welcome the officials on board the train.
After a short halt at the station here, the train moved to Budgam station to complete its trial run.
“The first case of Vande Bharat between Katra and Kashmir has been successfully completed,” the official said.
The train is specially designed to operate seamlessly in the challenging winter conditions of Jammu and Kashmir.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to flag off the train from Katra, as the railway safety commissioner has given the green signal for running the train service on the Katra-Baramulla section. The date of the flag off ceremony is yet to be announced.
Railways have completed 272 km of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project.
According to railway officials, the Railway Board, on June 8 last year, launched the Vande Bharat Express train designed to operate seamlessly in Jammu and Kashmir in the challenging winter conditions of the upcoming Katra-Srinagar railway line. The train includes special weather-related features.
Compared to the other 136 Vande Bharat Express trains running in different parts of the country, this train has several additional features to meet the operational challenges and passenger needs in the severe weather conditions of Jammu and Kashmir.
It includes advanced heating systems that prevent freezing of water and bio-toilet tanks, provide warm air for the vacuum system and ensure the efficiency of the air brake system to work well even at sub-zero temperatures.
The train also has heating elements embedded in the windshield to automatically dim the driver’s front-facing glass, ensuring clear visibility in harsh winter conditions.
In addition to these climate-related features, it includes all other amenities of Vande Bharat trains — fully air-conditioned coaches, automatic plug doors, mobile charging sockets and the like.
By improving the Kashmir valley’s connectivity to the national rail network, the train demonstrates India’s commitment to bridging the country’s economic and political gaps, officials said.
The approval by the railway safety commissioner marks an important step towards the completion of the 272 km USBRL project, which aims to connect the Kashmir valley to the wider Indian Railway network.
In the past month, Indian Railways has conducted six tests on different sections of the track, including milestones such as the country’s first cable-stayed bridge, the Anji Khad bridge, and the iconic bridge over the Chenab river at Kauri. .
The Anji Khad Bridge, an integral part of the USBRL project, is an engineering feat, consisting of a single pylon 331 meters above the river bed. The pylon, which took several years to complete, now rises 191 meters above the level of its base.
The Anji Khad Bridge, with a total length of 473.25 meters, is one of the two highest bridges in the world, next to the Chenab Bridge in Kauri, which holds the title of the highest railway bridge in the world at 359 meters above the river bed, 35. meters taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris .
