| Ahead of PM’s visit, Railways team inspects Banihal track by greatindian on 20 June, 2013 - 12:02 PM | ||
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 greatindian | Ahead of PM’s visit, Railways team inspects Banihal track on 20 June, 2013 - 12:02 PM | |
Srinagar: A week before the proposed inauguration of the 18.5-km-long Qazigund-Banihal rail link by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Northern Circle Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) RK Kardam along with a group of senior railway officials have started the inspection of the track. The exercise is a prerequisite on a new track before a train runs on it.The two-day inspection begacsignal for opening the track for passenger trains,” said a senior railway official.Besides Kardam, other officials in the inspection team are Ferozpur Division railway manager NC Goyal, Northern Railway chief safety officer CBK Singh, senior divisional commercial manager UP Singh, a senior divisional signal and telecom engineer and chief area manager, Budgam, AK Sharma.The railway track between Qazigund village of Kulgam distict in south Kasmir to Banihal town of Ramban district in Jammu also passes through the 11.17-km Pir Panjal tunnel which is India's longest tunnel. It has been constructed by Hindustan Construction Company and has a 3-m wide road running parallel to it for movement of small vehicles in case of any emergency.“We have started the inspection on the track and will be completing it by tomorrow,” Ferozpur Division railway manager NC Goyal told the Tribune.The trial run on the rail link was completed in 30 minutes on December 25 last year.The trains of Kashmir are yet to be connected with the rest of the country and they ply between Qazigund and Baramulla covering a distance of 119 km. The first phase of the rail service in the Valley was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on October 11, 2008. | ||