Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday inaugurated the 55-km Udhampur-Jammu railway line by flagging off the first train connecting the mountainous district with the rest of the country.
With the launch of the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express on the line, the ambitious project of connecting Kashmir valley to the rest of the country by rail has moved a significant step further, the PM said while waving the green flag.
Singh expressed confidence that after the completion of this most difficult part of the Jammu-Baramulla rail track, the first train linking Kashmir valley to the rest of the country will run in 2007.
He said the government has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for the ambitious project, which is aimed at boosting development of the state through trade and tourism.
The PM announced that the railway track between Jammu and Jalandhar in Punjab will be doubled as part of the national project.
The foundation stone of the rail link from Udhampur, housing the Army's Northern Command, was laid in 1983 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The line, constructed at a cost of Rs 515 crore, passes through militancy-affected mountainous terrain with 20 per cent of the track going through tunnels, including one that is 10-km long, incidentally the longest in the country.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, J&K Governor S K Sinha, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, Union Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and Deputy Chief Minister Mangat Ram Sharma attended the function.
Singh pointed out that the Udhampur-Jammu rail service was a cheaper way of trade and easier way of travel for tourists and Vaishnodevi pilgrims.
He asked the state government to amend its Constitution to allow benefits of the 73rd and 74th Amendments in the Indian Constitution, giving more powers to panchayats, to reach villagers of the state.
Earlier, the Railway minister said the flagging off of the Uttar Sampark Kranti Express fulfils the United Progressive Alliance government's promise to link Udhampur with the rest of the country by train.
The track links Jammu and Udhampur through Bajalta, Sangar, Marwal and Ramnagar stations and crosses the mighty Tawi river and its tributaries Sardan, Ringhal, Gambhir and Dudhar.
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