16.6.14

Udhampur-Katra rail service to be inaugurated

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to soon inaugurate the much-awaited train service to Katra, the base camp for pilgrims to the shrine of Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Kashmir.
Northern Railways declared the 25-km Udhampur-Katra line ready for opening after running a full train from New Delhi to Katra last week. Trains presently go up to Udhampur and this link will come as a boon to pilgrims travelling to the cave shrine.
A source said Modi is very keen to inaugurate the rail link and PMO would announce the date soon, which would also coincide with the PM's visit to the holy shrine.
Modi had visited Vaishno Devi on March 26 before launching BJP's election campaign from Hiranagar in Udhampur-Doda Lok Sabha seat, which the party won by defeating veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The rail track, constructed at a cost of Rs.1,000 crore, will be the first major project inaugurated by the PM in J&K.
During his inspection visit last week, Pradeep Kumar, general manager of Northern Railways, said the track was ready for inauguration.
An official said no further inspection of the track was needed as all deficiencies pointed out by the Commissioner for Railways Safety (CRS) in his report in January were rectified.

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