Heavy security remained deployed on the long tarmac road that connects the Nowgam railway station here with the main highway in Srinagar, while entry was allowed inside the station through metal detectors. The Vande Bharat Express train that was festooned for the inaugural run of connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country through a direct service ran today from the Nowgam railway station to Sangaldan after the 63-kilometre Katra-Sangaldan section was opened following the inauguration of train service by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The train carried mostly the students and railway staff, while the regular passenger service will begin from Srinagar station to Katra from tomorrow.
With the inauguration of the Katra-Sangaldan section, which was considered to be the most difficult in terms of construction due to the hilly terrain, Kashmir got connected to the rest of the country through a rail network after years of suspension of work over “issues of alignment.”
The section that was inaugurated today saw work remaining suspended for several years before a PIL was disposed of in the Supreme Court over the alignment of the project and the work began afresh in July 2016.
During the inaugural service, besides the railway employees and some of their family members, the teaching staff and several students, and some political functionaries undertook the journey in an atmosphere that was filled with excitement and fanfare. Haseeb Mehraj, a student of Srinagar school, said that the running of the train service was an Eid gift for the people of Kashmir.
“ I am excited to be part of the historic journey. It is a huge benefit for Kashmir and will help us travel outside the Valley without hassles, which were a regular phenomenon due to the closure of Srinagar-Jammu national highway and Mughal road,” said Haseeb, a 12th-class student of Srinagar British school.
He said that during his travel to Jammu in 2020 to join tuitions, he was caught in a traffic blockade on the Srinagar-Jammu highway for several hours, and the train service will now help people overcome such travel ordeals. “ This will help students a great deal who travel outside Kashmir for studies. It will project us on the path of development,” he said.
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The train to Sangaldan is a journey through miles of flat land and a few tunnels, and service started today after several bridges were raised on some sections, and one saw heavy use of steel cables. As the train chugged out of the dark tunnel on the regular track in Banihal, on a road that snaked up a hillside area, the security force personnel wielding guns kept a close watch. Another long tunnel connected Banihal with Sangaldan, and the track traversed through areas flanked by wide open fields and small open-roofed houses that dotted the hillside villages.
According to Railway officials, before the Vande Bharat train ran today, the trial run was carried out for nearly one and a half months. “ The train will have a brief stop at Banihal, where the people can alight and board. There are demands that the train should have a halt also at Anantnag,” said a railway official.
According to officials, the train service from Delhi to Srinagar would run in a few months, while the Jammu to Srinagar direct service will get operational after the construction work on some platforms is completed in Jammu.
Zaffar Hussain, Senior Section Engineer, Northern Railway, said, “ The regular train service will run from the Nowgam station to Katra. At Budgam, the trains undergo maintenance.” According to officials, the ticket for each passenger in the Vande Bharat Express will cost Rs 700 for travel in the chair car and Rs 1500 in the executive class. Travel in the other trains would come at nearly half the cost.
Railway officials further said that the Vande Bharat train is an electric train that runs on the power from the 25 KV regular supply line, which has been raised by the UT government. “ A carbon strip within the train gets activated with the help of a pantograph, and the train is entirely a green train, “said Abid Shah, General Manager Electrical, 온라인카지노 Railway Constructions (IRCON).
Irfan Ahmad Bhat, Deputy General Manager Signal and Telecom, IRCON, said that the tunnels are protected with CCTV surveillance, while there are also “night vision cameras” which cover the route in a “ staggered set up after every 50 meters.”
“ There are also speakers for emergency calls and service telephones for passengers. There are also control rooms at every station where the CCTV feed is regularly monitored,” he added.
According to officials, the Srinagar to Katra train section has been constructed at Rs 43,000 crore, with the maximum expenditure made on the Katra-Sangaldan stretch.
Senior BJP leader Manzoor Bhat, who was on board the train, said that the train service was a big achievement. “ We can now proudly say that there is connectivity between Kashmir to Kanyakumari. It is a dream which has been fulfilled by PM Modi, who is committed to the policy of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas ( development for all),” he said. Along the way, excited travelers and railway staff captured the moment in cameras, one click at a time.
