The Hindu Business Line : Commissioning of Jammu-Udhampur rail link in Dec

AS part of the Railways' efforts to connect the Kashmir valley with rail by 2007, the Jammu-Udhampur rail link will be commissioned next month, four months ahead of schedule.

The Railways Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, on Wednesday told the Consultative Committee attached to his Ministry that trial runs of trains on the much delayed Jammu-Udhampur link would begin next month and commercial traffic would start on the route before March next.

Work on the Udhampur-Katra-Quazigund-Srinagar-Baramula rail link, a national project, is progressing as per schedule and efforts are being made to ensure greater budgetary allocation, Mr Kumar said.

The Government has promised to run the first train to the Kashmir valley by 2007.

The Minister said over 6,000 route km of tracks had been renewed.

To prevent loss of life in fire accidents, the Railways have developed fire-proof coaches that can withstand heat of up to 900 degrees Celsius.

The first prototype has already been developed at the Kapurthala-based Rail Coach Factory and is undergoing field trials at present, he said.

Briefing members on the recently concluded General Managers' conference, the Minister said that the Railway brass has been directed to step up their marketing efforts.

The mid-year review had shown that the revenues earned by the Railways per unit of cargo moved had witnessed a decline.

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Commissioning of Jammu-Udhampur rail link in Dec