India News | Survey of Jammu-Poonch Rail Link Via Akhnur, Rajauri Shows Low Traffic Projections: Railway Minister
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A survey for a new 223-km rail line between Jammu and Poonch via Akhnur and Rajauri was carried out and the project cost was assessed as Rs 22,771 crore but it has low traffic projections, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
New Delhi, Mar 28 (PTI) A survey for a new 223-km rail line between Jammu and Poonch via Akhnur and Rajauri was carried out and the project cost was assessed as Rs 22,771 crore but it has low traffic projections, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.
BJP MP Ghulam Ali asked if it has been proposed to the government to establish Jammu–Rajouri-Poonch railway connectivity.
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"The work on the new railway line connecting Jammu with Srinagar i.e. Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project (272 km) has been completed. This project covers the districts of Udhampur, Reasi, Ramban, Srinagar, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam and Baramulla in Jammu & Kashmir," Vaishnaw said.
He added, "Survey for new line between Jammu and Poonch via Akhnur and Rajauri (223km) was carried out. The cost of the project was assessed as Rs 22,771 crore. The project has low traffic projections."
According to the minister, sanctioning of railway projects is a continuous and dynamic process. These projects are taken up on the basis of remunerativeness, last mile connectivity, missing links and alternate routes including connectivity to hilly and border areas, augmentation of congested/saturated lines, socio-economic considerations and the likes. And these depend upon liabilities of ongoing projects, overall availability of funds and competing demands, Vaishnaw said.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)