Anticipated cost of connecting Kargil with railways Rs 1.31 trn: Vaishnaw

The anticipated cost of the new Bilaspur-Manali-Leh railway line that will provide connectivity to Kargil is Rs 1,31,000 crore, the government said on Wednesday. 

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on whether the government has any plan to conduct a survey for connecting Ganderbal in Kashmir with Kargil, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a Detailed Project Report of the new Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line has been prepared. 

"Bilaspur-Manali-Leh New Line, falling partly in union territory of Ladakh, is identified as strategic line by Ministry of Defence. Survey of Bilaspur-Manali-Leh new line project (489 km) has been completed and Detailed Project Report has been prepared," he said. 

"The anticipated cost of the project as per the Detailed Project Report is Rs 1,31,000 crore," he said. Talking about the previous Srinagar-Kargil-Leh (480 km) rail project, Vaishnaw stated that the survey for it was carried out in 2016-17 and the anticipated cost of the project was Rs 55,896 crore. 

"However, due to low traffic projections, the project could not be taken forward," he said.