Banihal-Hingni stretch USBRL project may be finished by June

A 23-kilometer section of the famed Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Railway Line (USBRL) project in Jammu and Kashmir that runs from Banihal to Hingni is expected to be finished by the end of June, an official said. The Kashmir valley will benefit from flawless and trouble-free communication thanks to the USBRL project. Out of the total 272-km USBRL project, 161 km were completed in stages. The first phase, consisting of the 118-km Qazigund–Baramulla section, was completed in October 2009; the subsequent phases included the 18-km Banihal–Qazigund section in June 2013 and the 25-km Udhampur–Katra section in July 2014. The 111-km segment between Banihal and Katra is still under construction, but according to Northern Railways, 93 percent of the work has been finished. A total of 37 bridges and 35 tunnels, totaling 164 kilometres in length, are present in this region. By June 30, the USBRL's Banihal-Hingni segment will be operationally ready. According to Nadeem Shamas, project manager at ABCI Infrastructure, work is being done nonstop to meet the deadline. According to him, most of the work has been finished on the many tunnels and bridges the sector uses.