SRINAGAR RAILWAY STATION

                 

The 364 kms Rail link project between UDHAMPUR and BARAMULLA ((Srinagar) is being jointly executed by IRCON and KONKAN Railways at an estimated cost of 5700 crores. The alignment of this link is different from the existing National Highway connecting Jammu and Srinagar. From Udhampur this track shall move to Reasi and then to Sangaldhan and Gool Gulab Garh area wherefrom it shall come to Lawla. From Lawla the track is aligned to Banihal Town . A new tunnel, almost completed at Banihal, shall take the track to Valley. Jammu Udhampur link is since operational and so is the Anantnag Baramulla link. Udhampur- Katra link is slated to be made functional wef March 2010.Katra- Qazigund link is perhaps the toughest in terms of track creation on high mountains , Valleys and rivers and is being executed by KONKAN Railways. This track involves construction of 109 Tunnels , 164 major and 620 minor bridges including one over river CHENAB 380 metres high possibly the highest in the world . The final link is the 12.5 Kms Tunnel penetrating Pir Panchal range and connecting valley with rest of the country. Just 2 kms of the Tunnel is incomplete at the moment .Under all probabilities ,the link from Banihal to Baramulla shall be complete in July 2010 .The project in itself is an engineering MARVEL.•

Srinagar Railway station  is perhaps the best railway station in the country in terms of lay out and Architecture.The five-storey building of Nowgam (name of Srinagar’s railway station), is 8 km from the main city. The station looks like a royal court. The extensive use of wood, a hallmark of Kashmiri architecture, can be seen at this station. The Walnut wood panels and the tastefully carved wooden pillars present a royal ambience at the station. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) is planning to build a hotel around here in the next three years. Though main building of the station has since been constructed , yet many other buildings like the staff quarters , office complexes are under construction. The Railway station has Exquisite Chandeliers , walnut wood carving and neat and clean ambience . one can approach the station through the Srinagar - Baramulla Bye pass branching out at Athwajan or via Natiora or Rawal Pora as well.You can see a huge SAMAVAR carved on a walnut wood panel in exquisite kashmiri syle. In our school days one of my class fellows Mr Zahoor Ahmed Shair would sing LADISHAH based on arrival of first Aeroplane in Kashmir :

HAWAI JAHAAZ Aav Mulke Kashmir
Yimav Vuchh timav Kor Tobah Takseer .
The arrival of the train is different as almost all Kashmiris are already used to train Travel. The Bogies of these train were brought by road to Kashmir and the travel in this train is comfortable . One can reach Baramulla from Anantnag in just one and a half hour . People have started to commute distances through this fast link.

(Avtar Mota)

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