The Kashmir Valley will cross another milestone this Gandhi Jayanti (October 2) when J&K’s first electric train will start moving on the 137 km Banihal-Baramulla corridor, according to officials of the Indian Railway Construction Limited, reports news agency IANS. Since August 2019, the J&K government, Indian Railways, and Indian Railway Construction Limited have been working together on this project.
The project will undergo an inspection on September 26 and will be inaugurated on October 2. An official put the project cost at Rs 324 crore, adding that the Budgam-Baramulla section is already complete while the Budgam-Banihal corridor will be inspected and inaugurated on September 26.
Three Main Sub-Stations
With three main sub-stations at Qazigund, Budgam, and Baramulla from which power will be supplied to the overhead equipment of the rail line, the total route length for electrification is 137.73 km.
Aim of the Project
The project is aimed at reducing pollution. It will also save 60 percent on fuel consumption. Additionally, efforts are being made to connect Banihal and Katra. When the Katra-Banihal link is complete, Kashmir will be better connected to the rest of the country. A local named Muhammad Ramzan was quoted by IANS saying that this is an important step that will help J&K join the ranks of other developed states where modern facilities are available. It may be recalled that Kashmir got its first train service in 2013 when it was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.