J&K will have specially designed Vande Bharat train by 2024: Union Minister Vaishnaw

‘Srinagar-Jammu rail link to open by end of 2023 or in beginning of 2024’

Union Minister of Railway, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw Saturday said that Jammu and Kashmir will have specially designed ‘Vande Bharat’ train in the mid of 2024 while the train services from Jammu-Srinagar will be started by the end of 2023 or in the first two months of next year.

Addressing a news conference here at Srinagar railway stations, Vaishnaw, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), said that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has transformed the railway infrastructure and other related things as he is determined to improve the railway infra in Jammu & Kashmir.

Similarly in J&K, a dream project Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla is near completion, saying that after hectic efforts of project monitoring, funding and solving technical problems, the project will be made functional by the end of 2023 or in the first two months of 2024.

“The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) is in good progress and the project worth over Rs 35000 crore will be completed by the end of December 2023 or in January or February of 2024,” he said.

He further said that J&K also will have specially designed Vande Bharat train, saying that keeping in view weather conditions and other related things, the specially Vande Bharat train will be opened in the mid of 2024.

The Union Minister also said that the telecom facility, 4G-5G facilities will be ensured across J&K, adding that every single village will have telecom towers and optical fiber facility will reach every nook and corner.

About the Chenab railway bridge, the Union Minister said that the all the test have been successfully conducted and some more tests will be conducted tomorrow—(KNO)