Jammu and Srinagar will soon be closer as the travel time between them will be merely three hours ten minutes. With the commencement of final safety inspection, 111 Km long Banihal-Katra Section in the newly constructed, Jammu division, the rail commuters can expect a world class travel experience on this route from later this year as Jammu station is being redeveloped for equipping it with 8 platforms and modern amenities.
However an 8 coach Jammu Srinagar Vande Bharat express between Katra to Srinagar will start running soon. With this transformation, the long wait of train connectivity between Kashmir Valley & Jammu will be over. The completion of Banihal-Katra section has been an engineering marvel in which 97 KMs of length is tunnel and 7 KMs of distance is covered by 4 main bridges.
The toughest challenge in the project was to give foundation support to World’s highest arch bridge (i.e 359 m) on Chenab River. It was achieved by rock bolting method using 30,000 tonnes of steel. The other main challenge was to build India’s first cable stayed bridge on Anji River. The two other bridges on the section are Reasi Bridge and Bakkal Bridges.
While executing the project, Railways engineers innovated the technique of Himalayan tunneling over conventional tunneling method to overcome safety concerns and give strength to main as well as 67 KMs of escape tunnels. The tunnels have completely ballast less track as is used on the metro tracks with no joints. The longest tunnel in this section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) project i.e. T50 is of 12.77 KM length. Cameras are placed at every 50 M in the tunnels to keep an eye on safety and operational data. These Cameras are connected to a state of the art central control room. Railways have also built 215 KMs roads in the region to access the project sites, which is benefiting local people.
Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat train is especially designed with anti freezing features. The Snow removal train, moving ahead of passenger and freight trains will make sure that trains on this strategic route runs all through the year, day and night. This will ensure all weather connectivity between both the regions.
To give passengers a comfortable & safe travel experience, Railways has used Anti-Vibration seismic devices in the project as this region falls in zone-V earthquake vulnerability. These dampers will absorb the tremors in the Himalayan terrain and thus maintain faster and safer travel to the commuters.
The Vande Bharat Express running in Kashmir is different from the Vande Bharat Express running across the country. It is specially designed to operate smoothly in extreme cold conditions, i.e. as low as -20°C. To ensure comfort for passengers and drivers, the train is equipped with advanced heating systems. The driver’s cabin features heated windshield to prevent it from fogging up or freezing, ensuring clear visibility in extreme temperatures. Further the train has heating elements in the plumbing and bio-toilets to prevent water from freezing, ensuring that essential systems continue to function during cold weather.
