Anantnag-Qazigund rail line in JK to begin operation from Aug

The train running between Baramulla to Anantnag in Kashmir is all set to extend up to Qazigund next month.

"The 18-km-long Anantnag-Qazigund rail line is ready. We are giving finishing touch to make it operational next month," a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the Kashmir rail link project said.

The Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) is expected to inspect the line in the first week of August which will be followed by a speed test.

"The train operation will begin after getting the CRS authorisation," the official said, adding that with the start of functioning of the line, "the railway will cover 119-km track starting from Baramulla to Qazigund in Kashmir."

The cost of the Baramulla-Qazigund rail network project is estimated at Rs 3,200 crores.

The first train operation in Kashmir, the 66-km-long rail line from Anantnag to Mazhom, was flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in October last year.

In February this year, 35-km-long Mazhgom-Baramulla rail track was inaugurated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

It took almost nine years to complete the Baramulla-Qazigund rail project, which started in 2000.

"Though it was started in 2000, the land acquisition took place in 2002 only. Then there were other problems also," the official said. 

The Anantnag-Qazigund rail link has about 113 minor and major bridges along the route, the official said, adding that the 435-metre-long Veith river bridge is the longest followed by the 300-metre-long Sandran bridge.