Addressing reporters from the Chenab river bridge construction site, Vaishnaw said that the USBRL project is likely to be ready by December 2023 or January 2024. Vaishnaw said that once the railway line is functional a Vande Bharat Express will also run on the important rail link. For the smooth functioning of the Vande Bharat Express, maintenance facilities will be set up at Badgam in Jammu & Kashmir. He also said that electrification work on the Chenab bridge will start soon and it will also be equipped with the indigenous Kavach anti-collision system.
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Chenab river bridge is the world’s highest railway bridge at 359 metres above the river bed. The track laying work on the bridge has been completed. Today, the railway minister sat on a track mounted vehicle and took a ride on the railway tracks. The 1.3 kilometre long bridge forms a very important link in the 111 km stretch from Katra to Banihal.
The ambitious project is being executed by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd at an estimated cost of Rs 1486 crore. It is being built to withstand winds speeds of 266 kmph. It will also be blast-proof and can withstand severe earthquakes as well. The USBRL project will connect Jammu & Kashmir to the rest of India and provide all-weather connectivity.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways aims to connect all major railway routes in the country with Vande Bharat Express trains.
Vande Bharat Express is an all air-conditioned chair car service, a more premium version of Shatabdi trains. Indian Railways is also working on a new Vande Metro train service for short distance inter city travel. The aim is to connect major metros with nearby tier-2 cities.
(The reporter is in Jammu and Kashmir on the invitation of Northern Railway)
source
The post is published through a syndicated feed and attributed to Times Of India
