Source: https://www.news18.com/news/india/indian-railways-complete-another-tunnel-work-in-udhampur-srinagar-baramulla-line-4530173.html
Publisher: News18
The Indian Railways achieved another milestone recently as it completed connecting one more tunnel in the Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir. The Northern Railway zone is behind the project which is currently underway in the Bankot region located near Banihal. With the latest breakthrough, IRCON International Limited completed most of the excavation work of railway tunnels between Banihal and the Khari sector, reported Financial Express while citing a PTI report.
The work along the 110-kilometer extensive rail line between Katra and Banihal is underway at a steady pace and it is likely to be completed within the next two years. The new line is part of the larger 272-km-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link (USBRL) project that would not only connect the valley to the rest of the country but also provide an alternate surface link to the union territory.
“The around-two-km-long tunnel project in Bankot is being constructed at a cost of Rs 300 crore in two parts,” the report quoted an official as saying. Meanwhile, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Ramban, Harbans Lal Sharma, who attended the breakthrough ceremony, said the Indian Railways has crossed another challenging milestone between Banihal and the Khari sector of the Katra-Banihal railway link, coinciding with the World Tunnel Day. He also mentioned that train services from Kashmir to the rest of the country are expected to commence in the next two years and to achieve the deadline, work is in progress at an industrious speed in the region.
The 272-km railway project is being erected at a cost of Rs 28,000 crore, but for the time being the Ministry of Railways’ focus is on completing the strategic Katra-Banihal line, which consists of many tunnels.
