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Just four days before the first Rail budget of the NDA government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the first train from Katra to Udhampur.
The rail line is part of the strategically important 326 kilometer long Udhampur- Katra-Quazigund- Srinagar -Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project in Jammu & Kashmir. The line will also make the travel easier for the pilgrims to the Vaishno Devi shrine.
The cost of construction for 25.6 kilometer long Katra-Udhampur section is about Rs 1,132.75 crore. The newly constructed line will provide seamless flow of rail traffic through Jammu to Katra via Udhampur.
The bridge on River Jhajjar built along the new rail line is the longest Steel Girder Bridge in India with a height of 85 meters and with two spans of 154m each with sharp curves along the line. More than 235 kilometers of approach roads are being built along construction sites for carrying of construction material to complete the entire USBRL line.
Being located in the border state of Jammu & Kashmir, the railway line is a crucial one for national security. The present approximate estimated cost of the USBRL project is Rs 19,565 crore of which Rs 9,666.71 crore has been utilized so far.
Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda announced that about 700 people have been given permanent jobs in the process of building the lines. Three pairs of train services currently running between Jammu to Udhampur will be extended to Katra.
