Kashmir gets its first electric train!

Kashmir recently got its first electric that made its debut on Banihal-Baramulla corridor, thereby replacing the diesel engine run train.

Officials in the know-how stated that the environmentally friendly electric train will start operations on the 137km long Banihal-Baramulla corridor soon, and that the trial run of the train from Banihal in Jammu division to north Kashmir’s Baramulla district had been conducted last month by the railway authorities.
Reportedly, the total project cost for the electric rail link isINR 324 crores.

Revealing more, Abid Amin Shah, Additional General Manager, IRCON, added that the electric train has two sections, and while the Budgam-Baramulla rail link trials were conducted earlier this year, they took trials for the Budgam-Banihal section on September 24, 25 and 26.
He also added that the safety and security inspection was carried out by the principal chief electrical engineer, Northern Railways. He informed that the inspection was carried out for three days, before it was declared fit for running. These trains will also be cost-effective, and will likely bring down the operational costs by over 60 percent, he added.

The Qazigund-Banihal railway tunnel has now become the country’s longest tunnel to be electrified by the railways. This tunnel is 11.215 km long, and is located in the Pir Panjal range of the Himalayas in Qazigund town.

Currently, 19 trains are operational, with seven trains running regularly on the Baramulla- Banihal sector in J&K. Kashmir got its first train service in 2013, which was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Further, reports state that the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway (USBRL) railway tracks are also being laid to connect Kashmir with the rest of the country.