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The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, dedicated to the nation the newly constructed 18 km long rail line between Anantnag and Quazigund, the last stretch of the railway line in the Kashmir Valley, at a function at Anantnag today. In October 2008 and February 2009, the railway lines from Anantnag to Mazhom (66 km) and Mazhom to Baramulla (35 km) were inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The 101 km railway line which is already operational from Anantnag to Baramulla has proved to be very popular with more than 5000 passengers traveling on it every day. The additional railway line between Anantnag & Quazigund pressed into service will also benefit the residents of the Valley in a similar manner substantially. With the inauguration of this stretch, the entire 119 km long rail line from Baramulla to Quazigund in the valley has now become operational covering important stations like Sopore, Hamre, Pattan, Mazhom, Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipura, Panjgam, Bijbiara, Anantnag and Sadura in both the directions. The Prime Minister also flagged off a train from Anantnag to Quazigund on the occasion.

Also present on the occasion were the Minister of Railways, Kumari Mamata Banerjee, the Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad, the Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Shri Farooq Abdullah, Governor of J&K, Shri N.N. Vohra, Chief Minister of J&K, Shri Omar Abdullah, Chairperson, UPA, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri S. S. Khurana and others. The Prime Minster also flagged off Anantnag-Quazigund train on the occasion.

With a view to provide an alternative reliable, all weathers, transportation system and to connect the State of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) with the rest of the country through railway network, Ministry of Railways planned a 345 km long railway line connecting Jammu to Baramulla via Udhampur, Katra, Reasi, Sangaldan, Banihal, Quazigund, Anantnag and Srinagar. The project is of national importance. Due to this reason, part of the project from Udhampur to Baramulla has been declared as a ‘National Project’.

The railway line from Jammu to Damper was completed and dedicated to the nation by the Prime Minister on April 13, 2005. This section lies in the sub-mountainous region. It is 53 km long and has 10 km length of tunnels, 36 major bridges and 122 minor bridges. The completion cost of this stretch is Rs. 522 crore. This is also the only mountain railway in India to be built on Broad Gauge. This is in keeping with the unigauge policy of Indian Railways, which will enable instant connectivity with the remaining Indian Railway network once the construction of this project is complete.

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AKS/HK/LK/T R
(Release ID :53658)