Kashmir Rail Expansion: DPRs Ready, But No Timeline Yet for New Lines

• Railways prepares Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam doubling and Baramulla-Uri new line.
• Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Rajya Sabha that no definite timeline can be fixed due to various factors.
• A survey for Sopore-Kupwara line was dropped after being found infeasible.
• Sanctioning of projects involves consultation with state governments and approvals from NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance.
• Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project, recently commissioned, generated over 5 crore man-days of employment and built 215 km of approach roads.