Train to Kashmir: How railways beat Himalayan odds to build a marvel
Train to Kashmir: How railways beat Himalayan odds to build a marvel
Arvind Chauhan
TNN
Jun 6, 2025, 12:57 IST IST
As the rail link with Srinagar becomes a reality, here's a look at how those behind the project overcame logistical challenges and braved everything from bombs to landslides to pull off the unthinkable
Neetu Sapra has bittersweet memories of the 14 years she spent in Jammu and Kashmir since 1997.
'No quarters, peak insurgency, Kargil War — it was a roller coaster,' she says of life in a CRPF camp in Srinagar with a two-year-old son and a railway officer husband handling a project as fraught with danger as it was technically daunting. 'On a shopping trip to Lal Chowk in 1998, we narrowly escaped a bomb blast. The USBRL shaped us as much as we shaped it.'
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I loved this moment. It's a great opportunity to travel on this first train. Thank you, Modi ji,' a Class 9 student, Sunita Kumari said. Like her, other students were elated to witness the historic opening of this incredible track to Kashmir. 'Now Kashmir is fully integrated. You can see this beauty. It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment, we are part of history,' said another student, Anurag. Another man-made marvel on the Katra–Banihal section is the Anji Khad Bridge, a high-value tourist attraction and India's first cable-stayed railway bridge. Supported by 96 cables, the 725-metre-long bridge stands 331 metres above mean sea level. The 272-kilometre-long Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, constructed at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore, comprises 36 tunnels covering 119 km and 943 bridges traversing the rugged Himalayan terrain. 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Children, youth and even couples can take photos en route. This will also serve as an alternative route and reduce congestion on the highway.' STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
