Long wait for train in Kashmir valley to end soon

[Flintlock]

Long wait for train in Kashmir valley to end soon

10 Jun, 2008, 0243 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: The long wait for a train to ply in militancy-hit Kashmir may end soon as Railways is all set to start its service linking the northern and southern part in the valley.

Though connecting the valley with rest of the country was still a distant dream, Northern Railways on Monday said "We will soon approach Prime Minister to get a date, hopefully in this month itself, for inaugurating the train services on Anantnag-Budgam section."

The official said a trial run would be conducted on the route to check whether all safety measures are in place.

The Commissioner Railway Safety will carry out a four-day statutory inspection of the 30-km-long Anantnag-Kakpora section from tomorrow.

"We are waiting for the clearance from Commissioner Railway Safety. The CRS will supervise the trial run to check safety aspects on the Anantnag-Kakpora track in the Qazigund-Baramulla section," the official said.

The official hoped that rail services would be operational on the 55-km long Anantnag-Kakapora-Budgam track from this month-end.

The train to be introduced on the route will have air-conditioned coaches with heating system and push-back seats. This is for the first time in the history of Indian Railways that a train with all these facilities will cover short distances, the official added.

The tedious task of connecting Kashmir valley with the rest of the country, however, still remains distant as tunnels on the 300-km Kashmir-Jammu route are yet to be bored.

Long wait for train in Kashmir valley to end soon- Railways-Transportation-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

 

[Bushroda]

Here is the picture of the DMU. Looks sleak

 

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (JUSBRL) project could easily be described as one of the biggest and most challenging railway project in the world. And in fact many railway engineers involved in the project believe this project as top of the list, even more challenging than the highly acclaimed and much talked about Tibet railway project completed by China.

The Kashmir Railway is a railway line being built in India to connect the state of Jammu and Kashmir with the Himalayan foothills. The 290 km route crosses major earthquake zones, and is subjected to extreme temperatures of cold and heat, as well as inhospitable terrain, making it a challenging engineering project.

Some pix I found...

 

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Construction in a tunnel..


More construction activity..

 

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Construction from Jammu to Udhampur is over, and trains have already started running on this line, only diesel units able to run, electrification will be done shortly....

 

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Bridge to a WORLD RECORD.
The world's tallest rail bridge is coming up over the chenab, connecting kauri and Bakkal in J&K's Reasi district.Standing 359m when completed, it will be 5 times as high as Qutub Minar, 35m taller than Eiffer Tower and 17m higher than the present record holder Millau Bridge (342m) in France.

 

[Sam Dhanraj]

Train to Kashmir- A Century in the making​

A CNN IBN Doucmentary on 30 Minutes.

Part 1
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 2
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 3
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 4
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

 

[Flintlock]

Train to Kashmir- A Century in the making​

A CNN IBN Doucmentary on 30 Minutes.

Part 1
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 2
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 3
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 4
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Thanks Sam! That was very nice!

 

[Mohammed Azizuddin]

Train to Kashmir- A Century in the making​

A CNN IBN Doucmentary on 30 Minutes.

Part 1
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 2
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 3
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

Part 4
30 Minutes: Train to Kashmir, a century in the making: IBNLive.com > Videos

^^^Watched it yesterday on CNN-IBN.Thanks for the videos...

 

[Sam Dhanraj]

I am pretty much impressed by the newly built budgam station architecture.

New-age heritage: The carved wooden panelling in the interior of Budgam station building

The newly built Srinagar railway station is drawing not only people from surrounding villages but also visiting tourists. The stunning three-storeyed railway station building, a far cry from the squalor and chaos of most stations in the plains, boasts beautifully carved wooden panelling and chandeliers, and is surrounded by landscaped gardens. "Our attempt has been to replicate the local architecture in all the 15 railway stations which fall within the valley," Bhuvnesh Khare, chief administrative officer, Northern Railways, told Outlook. "The Srinagar station is particularly prestigious and we wanted it to display local artisanship at its best, so. Kashmiri craftsmen have created the wood panelling here." In fact, the railways and their contract agency ircon International Ltd have the explicit mandate to ensure that all contracts for construction works in the 120-km valley section are given exclusively to Kashmiris. Says a railway official: "We cannot even consider contractors from Jammu because the idea is that the money for constructing the railway project should go to Kashmiris from the valley. We want them to feel a sense of ownership."
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080630&fname=Kashmir+%28F)&sid=1&pn=1