Kashmir to be soon linked with Kanyakumari by rail, says PM Narendra Modi

PTI

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, February 20

Kashmir will soon be connected to Kanyakumari by rail, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he commissioned projects, including the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan (48 km) rail project and the newly electrified Baramulla-Srinagar-Banihal-Sangaldan (185.66 km) section, during his Jammu visit on Tuesday. The Prime Minister also virtually flagged off the first electric train in the Valley and also a train service between Sangaldan and Baramulla stations.

The commissioning of the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan section is significant as it features the usage of Ballast Less Track (BLT) all along the route, providing a better riding experience to passengers. Also, India’s longest transportation tunnel T-50 (12.77 km) lies on this portion between Khari and Sumber.

Longest transport tunnel operational

• The longest transportation tunnel of the country on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link has been opened. The 12.77-km long tunnel, known as T-50, falls between the Khari and Sumber section, a railway official said.
• T-50 is supposed to be the most challenging of the 11 tunnels in the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangadal section. Its work started around 2010 and took almost 14 years to operationalise.
• An escape tunnel, parallel to T-50, is also there to evacuate passengers in case of any emergency, the official added.

The rail projects will improve connectivity, ensure environmental sustainability and boost the overall economic development of the region.

The PM also inaugurated the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Jammu besides launching and laying foundation stones of various projects. He also interacted with beneficiaries of central schemes.

After the inauguration of AIIMS-Jammu, he said the Central Government had added 15 new AIIMS in the past 10 years, including two in J&K. “People will no longer have to travel to Delhi to get specialised medical treatment, which will help them save valuable time and resources,” he said.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh highlighted the importance the government has given towards giving pace to the infrastructural development in the country, especially in J&K.

The PM also inaugurated permanent campuses of IIT-Bhilai, IIT-Tirupati, IISER-Tirupati, IIITDM-Kurnool, academic and residential complex in IIT-Patna and IIT-Ropar, two permanent campuses of Central Sanskrit University in Devprayag (Uttarakhand) and Agartala (Tripura). The permanent campuses of IIM-Visakhapatnam, IIM-Jammu and IIM-Bodh Gaya besides the Indian Institute of Skills, Kanpur, were also inaugurated.

He inaugurated the improved infrastructure, like hostels, academic blocs, administrative buildings, libraries, auditoriums in multiple higher educational institutes across the country, like IIT-Jammu, NIT-Delhi, IIT-Kharagpur, NIT-Durgapur, IISER-Behrampur, NIT-Arunachal Pradesh, IIIT-Lucknow, IIT-Bombay, IIT-Delhi, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, among others.

According to Northern Railway officials, the opening of the Banihal-Khari-Sumber-Sangaldan section has brought them a step closer to achieving the dream of running a train from the Kashmir Valley in the north to Kanyakumari on the southern tip of the country.

“Earlier, eight diesel trains (four each from one side) were operating between Baramulla and Banihal. Today, Prime Minister Modi not only inaugurated the extension of the Banihal route to Sangaldan via Khari and Samber, but also flagged off the first electrified trains on the whole route from Baramulla to Sangaldan,” an official said.

(With inputs)

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