PM Modi flags off Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express
Inaugurates world’s highest rail bridge
Katra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off a Vande Bharat train service between Katra and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, the first train connection between the Kashmir valley and the Jammu region.
Modi inaugurated the train in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among others.
According to Northern Railway, the train has two travelling classes — Chair Car (CC) and Executive Class (EC) — with tickets costing Rs 715 and Rs 1,320, respectively.
Referring to the decades-old aspiration for railway connectivity in the region, PM Modi referred to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s speech, saying, “The CM said that he had been waiting for this project since his school days in class 7 or 8. Today, that dream of lakhs has come true.”
He recalled comments from a student from Sangaldan, who had written that people in his village had never seen a real train and now they are looking forward towards economic and social transformation.
“A girl student wrote in a newspaper that now the weather will no longer dictate if roads remain open—this is the power of connectivity,” PM Modi added.
The Prime Minister also spoke of the transformation Jammu and Kashmir has seen in education and healthcare.
“We now have NITs, IITs, AIIMS, and central universities in Jammu and Kashmir. Seven new medical colleges have been set up, and the number of MBBS seats has increased to 1,300,” he said, announcing a new medical college for Reasi, funded in part by contributions from Mata Vaishno Devi devotees.
Reflecting on the 11-year journey of the BJP-led NDA government, PM Modi highlighted its pro-poor governance model. “More than 25 crore Indians who once lived in poverty are now part of the growing middle class. These are not just statistics—these are lives transformed,” he said.
He emphasized that for the first time since 1947, so much focused work has been done for the middle class and poor.
“People who are caught up in needless debates should open their eyes and see who has actually benefitted,” he asserted.
PM Modi also inaugurated the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab river, which was completed at a cost of Rs 1,486 crore in more than eight years.
The prime minister then walked on the bridge holding the tricolour.
After the Chenab bridge, Modi inaugurated India’s first cable-stayed rail bridge over the river Anji.
Before the inauguration, Modi travelled in a rail engine coach to reach the spot.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were present on the occasion.
The architectural marvel Chenab rail bridge, situated at a height of 359 metres above the river and 35 metres higher than the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris, is a 1,315-metre-long steel arch bridge engineered to withstand seismic and wind conditions.
The bridge forms a crucial link in the 111-km stretch from Katra to Banihal, and its construction was approved in 2002, but the work started only in 2017. Before the construction, 26 km of approach roads and a 400-metre-long tunnel were built to reach the site, railway officials said.
The cable crane was commissioned on August 31, 2013, for the erection of a steel arch, trestle and piers. In 2017, an incremental launch over a 2.74-degree circular and a transition curve of 268 metres length was successfully done for the first time in the Indian Railways.
Joining of the 467-metre-long arch span was the most critical activity, the officials said, adding precision was to be maintained so that both ends of the arch meet with no error to ensure a perfect fit of the last segment of the arch.
The arch closure ceremony was conducted in April 2021, while the other major milestone was the ‘Golden Joint’ of the deck. The 785-metre-long deck superstructure was launched from both Kauri and Bakkal ends and was finally joined over the arch.
The Golden Joint ceremony was conducted on August 13, 2022.
The Anji bridge is the second-highest railway bridge after the iconic arch bridge over the Chenab at nearby Kauri.
In October 2016, the railway decided to build a cable-stayed bridge at Anji Khad after the plan to build an arch bridge similar to the Chenab bridge was abandoned due to the vulnerability of the structure, primarily due to concerns over the geological stability of the region.
This asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge crosses the deep gorges of the Anji river, a tributary of the Chenab river, and is located in the young fold mountains of the Himalayas, having extremely complex, fragile and daunting geological features in the form of faults, folds and thrusts and besides seismic proneness of the region.
According to railway officials, the total length of the bridge is 725 metres. It consists of an ancillary viaduct, an approach bridge and a central embankment.
It has been designed to handle heavy storms, strong winds and even explosions. The total deck width of the bridge is 15 metres.
The Anji bridge has a support of 96 cables varying from 82 metres to 295 metres, officials said. (with inputs from KNO, PTI)
