During a ceremony in Katra on Friday, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah reiterated his call for the restoration of statehood to the Union Territory, expressing confidence that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be the one to achieve this. The event saw PM Modi flag off two Vande Bharat Express trains from Katra Railway Station.
CM Abdullah, who attended the program alongside Prime Minister Modi, Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, and Union Minister Jitendra Singh, reflected on his long association with significant railway projects in the region. He recalled participating in the inauguration of the Anantnag rail station and the Banihal rail tunnel. He also noted that his last program during his first term as CM in 2014 was also in Katra, when then-newly elected PM Modi inaugurated the Katra railway station. “It has been my luck and fortune that whenever there have been big programs for railways, I have been part of it,” he stated.
Hoping for a return to normalcy, CM Abdullah highlighted the shift in their roles: “The same four people were present here in 2014 when the Katra Railway Station was inaugurated, Manoj Sinha, who was then MoS (Minister of State) for railways, got promoted as post of LG, and I got from CM of a state to CM of a UT.” He then expressed his optimism: “But things will get back to normal before we know it, and J&K will be given the status of a state by PM Narendra Modi.”
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, in his address, emphasized how the new railway link contributes to the national slogan of connecting the country from ‘Kashmir to Kanyakumari.’ He asserted that the project fulfills the dreams of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee by uniting the country’s two corners and connecting the “beating hearts of millions of Indians.” He described the newly inaugurated railway bridge as “not just cement and iron but a medium to connect the aspirations of Jammu and Kashmir.”
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi flagged off two Vande Bharat Express trains from Katra, establishing a direct connection between the Jammu division and Kashmir. Before the flagging-off, he interacted with schoolchildren onboard and railway staff. The new Vande Bharat service is expected to significantly reduce travel time between Katra and Srinagar from 6-7 hours by road to approximately 3 hours, offering a fast, comfortable, and reliable travel option.
These trains will traverse India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge, the Anji Khad Bridge, and the world’s highest railway bridge, the Chenab Bridge, both of which were also inaugurated by the Prime Minister. In a symbolic gesture, PM Modi waved the Tiranga (Indian national flag) on the deck of the Chenab River bridge.
These bridges are integral components of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Link (USBRL) project in Jammu and Kashmir. Despite numerous engineering and logistical challenges posed by the region’s difficult terrain and seismic sensitivity, the project has progressed, with the bridges now standing as a testament to India’s technological prowess and commitment to inclusive development. The 272 km long USBRL project, constructed at an estimated cost of around $43,780 crore, includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges, aiming to provide all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, thereby transforming regional mobility and fostering socio-economic integration.
