Banihal to Baramulla Train Journey in Winter 🤩 | Electric Train in Kashmir | Kashmir Trip Ep - 6

Banihal to Baramulla MEMU Train Journey 🤩 | Electric Train in Kashmir | Kashmir Trip Ep - 6 #indianrailways #kashmir #keralatokashmir

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The Jammu–Baramulla line is a railway track being laid to connect the Kashmir Valley in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir with Jammu railway station and thence to the rest of the country. The 338 km railway track will start from Jammu and end at Baramulla. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Firozpur railway division of Indian Railways' Northern zone. Part of this railway route from Udhampur to Baramulla is known as Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula Rail Link (USBRL). The 359 m (1,178 ft) tall Chenab Bridge lies on this line, which is the tallest railway bridge in the world. The total project cost in 2022 was INR28,000 crore (~US$3.5 billion).
Construction of the route faced natural challenges including major earthquake zones, extreme temperatures and inhospitable terrain. This Rail project from Jammu to Baramula was being initiated by Prime Minister Shri PV Narsimha Rao in 1996 later in 2002 Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced it National Project. Although scheduled completion date for the project was 15 August 2007, the revised timeline for the completion of remaining Katra–Banihal section of the project is November-December 2023.
The extension of railway line from Baramulla to Kupwara has also been approved, and revised Detailed Project Report (DPR) for it was submitted in July 2020 by the Railway Board.

In 2013 The Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel and Banihal station are opened. Trains can now run northward from Banihal on Jammu side through the tunnel to Qazigund on the Kashmir side and there onwards up to Baramulla. However, the southward connection to the rest of India is still incomplete. On 9 December 2013, a trial train reaches Katra from the Udhampur side, marking an engineering achievement on the southern side.

In Feb 2024 A 125kmph high speed trial was conducted successfully between Banihal and Sangaldan (48.1 km) on Feb 16th as part of Commissioner for Railway Safety (CRS) Inspection. On 20th Feb, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first electric MEMU train between Baramulla and Sangaldan, extending service from Banihal through Khari and Sumber before terminating at Sangaldan. This Inauguration delivers three new milestones of USBRL project.
Fully electrified tracks between Udhampur and Sangaldan
First electric train in operation in Kashmir Valley
Longest transport tunnel in India - T50 (12.77 km) - in operation between Khari and Sumber railway stations.
However, the entire project of connecting Kashmir to Rest of India by rail which was slated to be commissioned in February this year, was further delayed to the third quarter of the year due to infrastructural snags. The entire length of 272 km (169 mi) connecting Udhampur with Srinagar and Baramulla was earlier planned to be inaugurated prior to the Loka Sabha elections in March with a Vande Bharat express service between Udhampur and Baramulla.

The line may be the most difficult rail project undertaken on the Indian subcontinent. The young Himalayas are geologically surprising and problematic. The track's alignment presents one of the greatest railway engineering challenges ever faced; only Tibet's Qingzang Railway, completed in 2006 across permafrost and climbing to over 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level, is comparable. Although the Indian temperatures are less severe, the region experiences harsh winters with heavy snowfall. In the Pir Panjal Range, most peaks exceed 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in height.

Passenger service will be provided by high-power diesel multiple units and heated, air-conditioned coaches have wide windows, sliding doors and reclining seats. The driver's cabin has a heating and defogging unit, and is fitted with a one-piece glass window for a wider view. A snow-cutting cattle guard is attached to the front of the train to clear snow from the tracks during winter. Due to the valley's cold climate, the 1,400-horsepower diesel engine has a heating system for quick, trouble-free starts. Coaches have a public-information system (display and announcements) and a pneumatic suspension for riding comfort. There is a compartment for the physically disabled, with wider doors.