Ready, track waits for Govt go

Built at a cost of Rs 510 crore, the Jammu-Udhampur railway line is waiting inauguration for the past six months. The seemingly interminable...

Built at a cost of Rs 510 crore, the Jammu-Udhampur railway line is waiting inauguration for the past six months. The seemingly interminable wait has cost the railways another Rs 35 crore — for maintenance and upkeep of the line.

Now the railways has hinged its hope on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed visit to the state early November. Sources said the railways has requested Singh to inaugurate the line during his visit, but is yet to get a confirmation from the PMO. ‘‘There have been test runs of some freight trains. Passenger trains can now safely run on it,’’ said a senior railway official. In fact, Uttar Jan-Sampark Kranti Express was to start running on it, connecting Delhi to Udhampur by April this year.

Touted as country’s most prestigious showpiece — linking J-K to the rest of the country — Jammu-Udhampur line is part of the Rs 3,500 crore, 344-km railway line which connects Jammu to Baramullah via Udhampur, Katra, Qazigund, and Srinagar. Approved way back in 1981-82, the 54 km Jammu-Udhampur stretch was finally completed on April 21, this year.

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And since then, it has stood there unused, boasting of many firsts. The landmarks include the highest bridge in the country on piers (Gambhir bridge at 80 m), highest embankment (42 m) and ballast-free tracks. Reinforced hollow concrete piers have been constructed on all via ducts and bridges, keeping in view the seismological activity in the area.

With no trains running on the track, sources said, the railways are spending as much as Rs 10 crore every month only on maintenance of the line. Moreover, there is the additional cost on maintenance and operational staff posted there.

‘‘The thumb-rule for maintaining any railway line is that it requires 10 per cent of the total cost per year. In this particular case, the cost is more because of the terrain, location and infrastructure provided on the line. And then there is the added cost of staff and security of the line,’’ an official said.

Initially, the line was to be completed by March 25 but due to a technical snag on Gambhir bridge, it was deferred to April 21. ‘‘The reluctance to start trains on the track is not sending the right signal to the people of the state who have been eagerly looking forward to travel by this train. But now doubts are being expressed about the Government’s sincerity in starting the train service and also in completing the remaining sections of the line,’’ the official added. When contacted about the reason for delay in running trains on the line, Northern Railway spokesman D.P.S. Sandhu said they are ‘‘waiting for orders from the Railway Ministry’’.