With it being completed before the target date, the Jammu-Udhampur New Line Project will be opened to traffic on March 25 this year, Railway Minister Nitish Kumar announced in the Lok Sabha on Friday.

The Jammu-Udhampur project "is nearing completion and will be completed before the target date and be opened to traffic on March 25," he said, introducing the 2004-05 interim Railway Budget.

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He said work on all projects was going on in full swing and all efforts were being made to achieve the targets.

A new Uttar Sampark Kranti Express would be introduced between Delhi and Udhampur to cater for Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, Kumar said.