Vande Bharat Express will soon run in Jammu and Kashmir once the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla (USBRL) rail link is fully operational, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters from the Chenab river bridge construction site, the minister said that the USBRL project is likely to be ready by December 2023 or January 2024, Times of India reported.
Vaishnaw also added that maintenance facilities will be set up at Badgam in Jammu and Kashmir for the smooth functioning of Vande Bharat Express.
Inspected the Chenab Bridge????- world’s highest rail arch bridge. pic.twitter.com/EA6qLLtsv9— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) March 26, 2023
The USBRL project will connect the Kashmir valley to the rest of the nation. Built at a cost of around Rs 1,400 crore, the Chenab Rail Bridge is the biggest civil engineering challenge faced by any railway project in India in recent history.
The highest single-arch railway bridge in the world was inaugurated on August 13 this year. The bridge construction was sanctioned in 2004 but delayed due to extreme weather conditions. The project is said to have missed several deadlines through the years.
Designed by a software called Tekla, the bridge has high-grade structural steel that can withstand temperatures ranging from minus 10 degrees Celsius to 40 degrees Celsius.
Vaishnaw inspected the bridge on Saturday and announced that two more tests of running a motor trolley and bolero customised rail operation will be held.
Several safety checks have been carried out so far that include high-velocity winds test, extreme temperatures test, earthquake-prone test, and hydrological impacts due to rise in water level.
Hailing the world’s highest bridge as an engineering marvel, the minister said that work on the Chenab bridge is progressing fast.
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