Aiming at providing seamless and hassle-free connectivity to Kashmir Valley, the government has stressed on the completion of the prestigious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project on time. According to an official, work on the USBRL project’s 23-km stretch from Banihal to Hingni in Jammu-Kashmir is expected to be finished by the end of June.
Nadeem Shamas, Project Manager of ABCI Infrastructure, said: “The stretch from Banihal to Hingni of the USBRL project will get ready for operations by June 30,” and added that the work is going on fast to achieve the deadline and most of the tunnels-bridges work has been completed.
“Near Krawa village, the 765 meter-long cut and cover tunnel is almost finished. T 78 tunnel is also almost completed with Ballastless Track (BLT) laying works expected to be completed by April end,” said the project manager.
The T 77D tunnel, merging with an old tunnel having over 2.5 km length, is undergoing lining works– all set to be finished by next month. The tunnel will be handed over to Northern Railways once the BLT work is finished by May 30 after the completion of lining work, he said.
Ninety-three percent work on the under-construction 111-km Banihal-Katra section, a total of 37 bridges and 35 tunnels, is completed, said Northern Railways, reported PTI. According to Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Mussarat Islam, “Out of the 111-km, 53 km goes through Ramban district and 87 percent of this length is covered by tunnels.