Kashmir to be connected with rest of the country through rail link by early 2024

After decades of wait, Kashmir will be finally connected with the rest of the country through a railway network in early 2024 with a specially designed ‘Vande Bharat’ train being developed for the Udhampur-Banihal track.

While train service from the rest of the country is currently available till Udhampur in Jammu, the intra-Kashmir train which was inaugurated on October 11, 2008, by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chugs from Baramulla to Banihal.

While the foundation stone of the high-profile project was laid by then PM Indira Gandhi on April 14, 1983, the construction however started in 1995 and Jammu-Udhampur Station was opened on April 13, 2005. It was in 1997 that a survey beyond Udhampur up to Srinagar was conducted.