The Udhampur- Srinagar- Baramulla Rail Link or the USBRL, is a visionary design of Indian govt to link the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir with rest of the country. In March 2002, the design was designated by then PM, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee as one of utmost national significance and public interest. This project is the largest mountain railway undertaking since independence. The proposed rail line goes through the mighty Himalayas on its way from Jammu to Baramulla. The four sections of this rail design, which are being erected at a cost of Rs 27949 crore are Udhampur- Katra, Katra- Banihal, Banihal- Qazigund, and Qazigund- Baramulla.

The 272 km-long USBRL design, which was declared a ‘National Project’ in 2002, will cover 38 tunnels. The entire project concerns 272 KM long rail line out of which the 118 km Qazigund- Baramulla section was commissioned in October 2009, the 18 km Banihal- Qazigund section in June 2013 and 25 km Udhampur- Katra section in July 2014. Currently, work is underway on the Katra- Banihal section. The world’s highest rail-bridge across Chenab has been completed and track- linking work on it has started. Also, work is nearly complete on ‘first cable-stayed bridge’ of Indian Railways. Out of a total of 163.88 km,162.6 km of tunnel mining under the Katra-Banihal Section has been completed while 31.3 km of total 117.7 km of track laying has been fulfilled. Between Jammu- Udhampur- Katra in the Jammu region and Baramulla- Banihal in Kashmir, trains are running regularly.

According to a report from the central government, the rail connection to Kashmir has been delayed for more than 20 years now and has witnessed a cost escalation by Rs 25449 crore during 241 months. The budget allocation for USBRL was about Rs 800 crore before 2014, which had been increased to Rs 6000 crore in 2022- 23. The revised cost now is Rs 27949 crore inferring a cost overrun of Rs 25449 crore and a time overrun of 241 months. The awaited date of commissioning of the project has been listed by end of 2023.

As per Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw, Kashmir valley’s rail link with the rest of the country will be completed by January 2024 and the rail network will further be expanded up to the Line of Control (LoC). The work on the Udhampur- Srinagar- Baramulla rail link is progressing at a fast pace and trains are likely to start running on USBRL by January/February 2024. It is also proposed to launch Vande Bharat trains after connecting the Udhampur- Srinagar- Baramulla train service in this rail section. In future phases, it is planned to operate a number of Vande Bharat trains from over the country till Kashmir. As per the Govt, large improvements in rail services are planned at Baramulla as it will be India’s first railway station from the side of LoC

The development of Rail line up to Baramulla is indeed a major and futuristic design which will not only go a long way in improvement of economic conditions in Kashmir but will also help enhance the security of the nation. Large number of the nation’s armed and security forces are posted in J&K hinterland and along the LoC. They will immensely benefit from the completion of this design, both administratively and operationally. It is indeed a commendable feat on part of the Indian railways and the govt to have neared the completion of this long pending and crucial project which will not only benefit the citizens of Kashmir but also the entire country.