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‘Ready for inauguration’: Vande Bharat completes trial run in J&K
Besides the regular features of the vande Bharat trains, the J-K special trains will have advanced heating systems for operations in the sub-zero temperatures of the winters.
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Specially-designed Vande Bharat Express train during a trial run, at a railway station in the Nowgam area of Srinagar. (Express photo by Shuaib Masoodi)Three decades after it was conceived, the first train connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country arrived in Srinagar on Saturday.
The trial run of the Jammu-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express was successfully completed with its arrival at Nowgam railway station. The train started from Katra station at 8 am and reached Nowgam station three and a half hours later. After a brief half at the station, the train moved to Budgam station to complete its trial run.
“After the successful trial run, we are ready for its inauguration,” a railway official said, adding, “We expect Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji to inaugurate it. As of now, there are no clear dates when the flagging-off ceremony would take place.”
During the trial run, the train passed through the toughest terrain between Katra and Qazigund and crossed several engineering marvels and bridges that are part of the railway line.
Three engineering marvels of Bharat;
🚄 Vande Bharat crossing over Chenab bridge and Anji khad bridge.
📍Jammu & Kashmir pic.twitter.com/tZzvHD3pXq— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) January 25, 2025
The Vande Bharat Express also crossed the Chenab bridge, which is considered to be the world’s highest rail bridge at a height of 359 meters above the riverbed. It also crossed the 470-meter Anji Khad bridge, a cable-stayed bridge at a height of 331 meters from the riverbed.
The Vande Bharat trains that would run on the Delhi-Jammu-Srinagar rail route are specially designed for operations in the tough and challenging weather conditions. Besides the regular features of the Vande Bharat trains, the J-K special will have advanced heating systems for operations in sub-zero temperatures during winter.The 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar railway line was conceived in 1994 to provide all-weather and easy connectivity to the Kashmir Valley. In 2002, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared it a fully funded national project.
While the Katra-Qazigund stretch of the railway line was a challenging task, the Centre divided the railway line into three legs: Katra-Banihal, Banihal-Qazigund and Qazigund-Baramulla. In 2008, the then prime minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Anantnag-Mazhama (Budgam) rail link that was part of the Kashmir leg.
A year later, the Mazhama-Baramulla stretch and the Anantnag-Qazigund stretch were also thrown open, thus successfully connecting the north and south Kashmir through a rail. In 2013, the Qazigund-Banihal stretch was thrown open.
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