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| Bad weather halts railway project in Kashmir | | Trial runs on the 42-km track will now be conducted in April | |
NEW DELHI
The "freak weather" that brought unprecedented snow, rain and floods to the Kashmir Valley during the last fortnight, leading to the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway, has "derailed" the trial run on the 42-km-long railway project in the valley.
The Railways drew up an ambitious plan for the historic launch of train services in April during the tourist season. For this purpose, eight coaches, along with a Diesel Mobile Unit, were transported by road during January for the trial run between Rajwansher and Awantipora in south Kashmir.
However, with the closure of the national highway, several coaches remain stranded in Jammu. The weather was also not conducive for execution of work. This led to delays in conducting the trial run, essential for seeking "safety clearance" from the Commissioner of Railway Safety to run regular services.
"The recent snow, rain and floods have led to loss of time. We are now looking at conducting the trial runs now sometime in April. A final decision on this issue will be taken in the first week of next month after assessing the ground situation and the weather issue," a senior Railway Ministry official said.
Officials said there was no damage to the railway infrastructure, including the 42-km track.
The entire programme of regularising the services would be re-scheduled to May, the peak tourist season. Initially, the train would run between five stations ending at Budgam. The Katra-Udhampur link, built in treacherous terrain, would also take some time to be completed due to technical problems in construction of tunnels.
"The entire situation will be sorted out by October. The proposed railway line, when completed, will provide connectivity to the Valley with the rest of India throughout the year."
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