By Admin 
Indian Railways: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off the first train to run from Katra to Valley on 19 April. With this historic step, the 70 -year -old dream of rail connectivity till Kashmir will come true. The train will start from Katra town of Reasi district and reach Srinagar crossing the Pir Panjal mountain range and then will go to Baramulla in North Kashmir.
In this important program, PM Modi will also include Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. According to the information received, this train is currently running from Sangaldan to Baramulla.
PM Modi will visit the world’s highest bridge
Prime Minister Modi will reach Udhampur Army Airport from New Delhi on the morning of 19 April, after which he will visit the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River. During this time, they will be informed about the technical aspects related to the construction of the bridge. After this, PM Modi will flag off the Vande Bharat train from Mata Vaishno Devi Aadhaar camp at Katra.
PM Modi will address rally in Katra
Before returning to Delhi, Prime Minister Modi will also address a public rally in Katra. According to railway officials, after the completion of the expansion work at Jammu railway station, train service from Jammu to Valley will start from July-August this year. However, there will be no direct train for Kashmir from Delhi or other parts at present. Passengers will have to get down in Katra and catch another train which will be implemented in Jammu later.
Extension of rail link continues under USBRL project
Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project was launched in October 2009, 118 km of 118 km of 272 km under the project. After this, the work of 18 km long Banihal-Kazigund Link in June 2013 and 25 km long Udhampur-Katra section in July 2014 were completed. In February last year, 48.1 km Banihal-Sangdan section was also added.
The work of the 46 km long Sangaldan-Risi section was also completed in June last year, while the construction of 17 km between Reasi and Katra was recently completed. After these preparations, tests of different trains have started in India and review of security measures has also been completed.