(a) whether the 345 km long Jammu-Baramulla railway line project was conceived and started in 1983 and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether Jammu-Baramulla railway line project has been declared a National Project; and
(c) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for not completing the project even after a lapse of almost three decades?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
(SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c): Jammu-Udhampur (53 km) new line was sanctioned in 1981-82 and it has been commissioned in 2005. Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link was sanctioned in 1994-95 and it has been declared a National Project in July 2002. On this project, Udhampur-Katra (25 km) and Banihal-Baramulla (136 km) sections have already been commissioned and construction of Katra-Banihal (111 km) section has been taken up. As the project alignment passes through very difficult terrain of young Himalayas involving geological uncertainties, such projects do take longer time.
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