PM to virtually flag off Vande Bharat from Amritsar to Katra on Aug 10

J&K to get 5th such train service

Will connect two important pilgrim towns

Sanjeev Pargal

JAMMU, Aug 6: Jammu and Kashmir will get fifth Vande Bharat train on August 10 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will virtually flag off the train service connecting two religious towns of Amritsar in Punjab and Katra in Jammu.

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Two Vande Bharat trains are currently running between New Delhi to Katra and two from Katra to Srinagar.
Amritsar-Katra will be fifth Vande Bharat train to run in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Prime Minister will virtually flag off the Vande Bharat Express train service from Amritsar to Katra on August 10. The train will run six days a week excepting Tuesday.
People from Punjab intending to undertake pilgrimage to holy cave shrine of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Ji and those from Jammu visiting holy city of Amritsar to pay obeisance at Golden Temple will benefit from the Vande Bharat train service.
“Vande Bharat train No. 26406 will run from Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra to Amritsar while train No. 26405 will run from Amritsar to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra six days a week except Tuesday,” the officials said.
The train No. 26406 will depart from Katra at 6:40 am and reach Amritsar at 12:20 pm, with stops at Jammu, Pathankot Cantt, Jalandhar City, Vyas etc. The same train numbered 26405 will depart from Amritsar at 4:25 pm and reach Katra at 10 pm with same stops.
“The train will benefit passengers as it will take less time to cover the distance due to its advanced features,” the officials said.
Sources said once construction work at Jammu Railway Station is completed, the Vande Bharat trains running from Katra to Srinagar will start operations from Jammu to Srinagar.
Meanwhile, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw today said that Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project of total length 272 Km was recently commissioned covering districts of Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir.
He said this in response to a written question in Lok Sabha.
“The USBRL project is one of the most difficult new railway line projects undertaken in the country post-independence. The terrain passes through young Himalayas, which are full of geological surprises and numerous problems. In this project, Railway has made the world’s highest railway bridge over Chenab river in Reasi district. The iconic Chenab Bridge is 1315 m long having an arch span of 467 m and height of 359 m above river bed. Indian Railway’s first cable-stayed bridge has been constructed over Anji Khad in this project. Its bridge deck is 331m above the river bed level and height of its Main pylon is 193m,” he said.
Vaishnaw said the USBRL project has made substantial socio-economic contributions to the region, with employment generation being a significant aspect of its impact. “The project has generated more than 5 cr. man-days of employment. Another crucial facet of the USBRL Project’s socio-economic development efforts has been the construction of over 215 km of approach roads, which include construction of a tunnel and 320 small bridges. This road network has helped the local population in improvement of their connectivity with other areas and also improvement in socio-economic states,” he added.
In accordance with international norms, adequate safety provisions have been kept in the USBRL project. All tunnels having length more than 2 Km have been provided with mechanical ventilation systems to ensure air quality. Firefighting systems comprising fire hydrants and fire extinguishers have been provided to promptly address and contain potential fire incidents in all the tunnels. Further, to ensure the safety of passengers, escape tunnels have also been made where the length of the tunnel is more than 3 Km. A total of 66 Km escape tunnels have been made in this project, the Railways Minister said.
He said advanced techniques of controlled blasting were adopted during tunnelling to minimize vibrations and environmental damage.
“Sensors have been installed in all tunnels in the Katra-Banihal section to monitor the Air Quality during the operational phase also. The entire rail project is electrified using an overhead conductor system in tunnels and in open stretches,” Vaishnaw said.

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