Jammu–Baramulla line

The Jammu–Baramulla line is a railway track between the towns of Jammu and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The 324 km railway track will connect the Kashmir Valley with Jammu Tawi railway station and hence to the rest of India. It comes under the jurisdiction of the Jammu Railway Division of Indian Railways's Northern zone. Part of this railway route from Udhampur to Baramulla is known as Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramula Rail Link (USBRL). The 359 m (1,178 ft) high Chenab Bridge lies on this line, which is the highest railway bridge in the world. Some of the longest railway tunnels in India are part of this route. The total project cost in 2022 was INR28,000 crore (~US$3.5 billion). Construction of the route faced natural challenges including major earthquake zones, extreme temperatures and inhospitable terrain.
December 2024: Indian Railways announces the first-ever train timings between Katra in Jammu and Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The train service includes newly introduced Vande Bharat trains and Mail/Express trains, as per a communication from Northern Railways. The historic service is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 6, while trains are expected to chug between Kashmir and Jammu around January 26, coinciding with Republic Day celebrations.
January 2025: The Jammu Railway Division is inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 6, 2025. Till then, Jammu-Baramaulla line falls under the Firozpur Division of Northern Railways. Jammu Railway Division has been carved from the Firozpur Division and covers 742.1 km. The Jammu Divisionis a part of Northern Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is 70th division of Indian Railways.
The Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) is scheduled to conduct the final inspection of this section on January 7 and 8, 2025. This inspection is the final safety assessment before the section becomes operational. Upon successful completion, the Katra-Reasi section is expected to commence operations, with the inaugural run anticipated later in January 2025.
This development will mark the first time the Kashmir Valley is directly connected to the country’s rail grid, symbolizing a new era of connectivity and integration. The introduction of Vande Bharat Express trains on this route is also on the horizon, offering speed and comfort to passengers traveling to and from the Kashmir Valley. Once operational, this rail line will significantly enhance connectivity, boost economic activity, and bring Kashmir closer to the rest of India. On Jan 25, Vande Bharat express arrived at Srinagar from Jammu crossing the iconic Chenab Bridge.
The railway line is divided into four sections:
Leg 0 has been operational since 2005. It was built over 21 years, between 1983 and 2004–05.
Leg 1 has been operational since July 2014. The leg had missed opening dates in the past, including December 2005, December 2006 and May 2009. Work on the section, suspended for two years due to a partial tunnel collapse, resumed in September 2009. Although the section was planned to open by 2 February 2014, passenger service was delayed due to Commission of Railway Safety concerns about one bridge and tunnel. The route includes seven tunnels and 30 bridges. The section was opened on 4 July 2014.
Leg 2, running 111 km from Katra to Banihal is under construction, and missed the deadline in December 2023. Construction on the leg has been beset by technical difficulties with alignment and disputes with contractors, and was originally expected to be finished in 2017–18. This is the line's most difficult section of the rail line, with 62 bridges and a number of tunnels totalling 10 km out of total 129 km. It requires 262 km of access roads connecting 147,000 people in 73 villages; 160 km, connecting 29 villages, is completed. In July 2008, work on part of the Katra-Banihal section was suspended for a possible realignment. The alternative alignment, proposed by the railway, reduced the track length from 126 km to 67 km. A committee appointed by the Railway Board recommended abandoning 93 km of the previously approved alignment. On 12 November 2014, the Delhi High Court directed the central government to appoint a committee to review the 126 km-long section.
An 18 km stretch of Leg 2, between Quazigund and Banihal, was authorised on 26 June 2013. The stretch includes the 11.215-km (7-mile) Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, also known as the Banihal railway tunnel. India's longest rail tunnel, it is 8.4 m wide and 7.39 m high. The tunnel includes a 3 m-wide service road for maintenance and emergency use. Its average elevation, 1760 m, is 440 m below the existing road tunnel.
The tunnel facilitates transportation during winter (when inclement weather closes the Srinagar-Jammu highway), and halves the distance between Quazigund and Banihal (35 km by road and 17.5 km by train). The Banihal railway station is 1,702 m (5,584 ft) above mean sea level, and trains run from Banihal to Qazigund through the tunnel. The 5 km Banganga section was expected to be operational before the completion date of 2017–18 for the entire project.
This leg contains the construction of two extremely challenging bridges, an arch bridge on the Chenab river and cable-stayed Anji Khad Bridge.
Status update of under construction 148 km route from Katra to Banihal.
Leg 3 has been operational since October 2009. The line from Baramulla to Banihal, across the Pir Panjal Range, is 130 km long. Since the 25 km-long Udhampur-Katra section was commissioned in October 2013, only the 148 km Katra-Banihal section of Leg 2 remains to be constructed. Until the Katra-Laole section of railway is finished by 2020, travel from Jammu Tawi (or Udhampur) to Banihal by road and from Banihal to Srinagar by rail is possible.
The Banihal–Baramulla section is also being electrified, and track-electrification work has been in full swing since July 2020.
In June 2017 Ministry of Railways also laid the foundation stone of five new halt railway stations on the Banihal–Baramulla section i. e. Sangdan, Ratnipora, Razwan, Monghall and Nadigam but civil works of these stations has yet to start.
The line may be the most difficult rail project undertaken on the Indian subcontinent. The young Himalayas are geologically surprising and problematic. The track's alignment presents one of the greatest railway engineering challenges ever faced; only Tibet's Qingzang Railway, completed in 2006 across permafrost and climbing to over 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea level, is comparable. Although the Indian temperatures are less severe, the region experiences harsh winters with heavy snowfall. In the Pir Panjal Range, most peaks exceed 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in height.
The route includes many bridges, viaducts and tunnels. The railway is expected to cross over 750 bridges and pass through over 100 km (62 mi) of tunnels, the longest of which is 11,215 m (6.969 mi). Engineering challenges include crossing the Chenab River on a 1,315-metre-long (4,314 ft) bridge 359 m (1,178 ft) above the riverbed and crossing the Anji Khad on a 657-metre-long (2,156 ft) bridge 186 m (610 ft) above the riverbed. The Chenab Bridge will be the highest railway structure of its kind in the world, 35 metres (115 ft) higher than the top of the Eiffel Tower. Both bridges will be simple. Weathering steel is planned for an environmentally-friendly appearance and to eliminate the need for painting. The design and structure is similar to West Virginia's New River Gorge Bridge. The project is managed by the Konkan Railway Corporation. Completion was scheduled for 2012 (four years after the first isolated section of the route was opened for local passenger service), and it requires 26,000 tonnes of steel.
All tunnels are built with the New Austrian tunnelling method, and a number of challenges have been encountered while tunnelling through the geologically young, unstable Sivalik Hills. In particular, water entered the Udhampur-to-Katra section; this required drastic solutions with steel arches and several feet of shotcrete. Along with shotcrete, lattice girder support were provided according to different class of rocks found along the entire terrain of mountains in the proposed project. Although the rail line is being built through a mountainous region, a one-percent ruling gradient has been set to provide a safe, smooth, reliable journey. Bank engines will not be required, making the journey quicker and smoother. It will use 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge continuous welded rail laid on concrete sleepers, with a minimum curve radius of 676 m. The maximum speed will be 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph). Provision for future doubling will be made on major bridges. Provisions for future electrification will also be made, although the rail line will use diesel locomotives initially; the region is presently electricity-scarce. There will be 30 stations on the route, initially served by 10–12 trains per day.
Closed-circuit television cameras at major bridges, tunnels and stations are planned, and all major bridges and tunnels are illuminated.
Passenger service will be provided by high-power diesel multiple units and heated, air-conditioned coaches have wide windows, sliding doors and reclining seats. The driver's cabin has a heating and defogging unit, and is fitted with a one-piece glass window for a wider view. A snow-cutting cattle guard is attached to the front of the train to clear snow from the tracks during winter. Due to the valley's cold climate, the 1,400-horsepower diesel engine has a heating system for quick, trouble-free starts. Coaches have a public-information system (display and announcements) and a pneumatic suspension for riding comfort. There is a compartment for the physically disabled, with wider doors.
Freight rolling stock for the route will come from the existing national fleet. Freight service (grain and petroleum products) will run between the 10–12 daily passenger trains. Maintenance will be done at the Badgam workshop, north of Srinagar. Three-aspect colour-light signalling is being installed on the route for safety, and GSM-R equipment may be installed in the future to improve its quality.
Indian Railways is in charge of the 25-kilometre (16 mi) Udhampur-Katra section. The subsidiary Konkan Railway Corporation is in charge of the 90-kilometre (56 mi) Katra-Laole section. This is arguably the line's most difficult portion, with over 92 percent tunnels or bridges—12 kilometres (7.5 mi) of bridges and 72 kilometres (45 mi) of tunnels. Ircon International, a public-sector company, is in charge of the 175-kilometre (109 mi) Dharam-Qazigund-Baramulla section. One hundred thirty-eight kilometres of the line, including the valley and the Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel, is operational. Hindustan Construction Company built the 11,215 m (6.969 mi) Pir Panjal tunnel through the range for about ₹900 crore. Afcons Infrastructure Limited and South Korea's Ultra Engineering will design and build the Chenab Bridge for around ₹974 crore. Gammon India and South Africa's Archirodon Construction will build the Anji Khad Bridge for ₹745 crore.