{"id":1650,"date":"2025-07-25T04:22:37","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T04:22:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railtravels.org\/?page_id=1650"},"modified":"2025-07-25T04:22:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T04:22:37","slug":"baramulla-kupwara-rail-link","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/baramulla-kupwara-rail-link\/","title":{"rendered":"Baramulla-Kupwara Rail Link"},"content":{"rendered":"

Baramulla-Kupwara Rail Link<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA<\/strong>
\nMINISTRY OF RAILWAYS<\/strong>
\nLOK SABHA<\/strong><\/p>\n

STARRED QUESTION NO: 185<\/p>\n

ANSWERED ON: 04.03.2025<\/p>\n

Baramulla-Kupwara Rail Link<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mohammad Akbar Lone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:-<\/p>\n

(a) whether the Government has any proposal\/received any request for the extension of rail link from Baramulla to Kupwara and Kupwara to Lalab;<\/p>\n

(b) if so, the details thereof; and<\/p>\n

(c) the present status of the extension of these rail links?<\/p>\n

ANSWER- MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)<\/strong><\/p>\n

(a) to (c) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.<\/p>\n

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. 185 BY SHRI MOHAMMAD AKBAR LONE TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 04.03.2025 REGARDING BARAMULLA-KUPWARA RAIL LINK.<\/p>\n

(a) to (c) Yes, Sir. Survey of new Broad Gauge Railway line between Baramulla and Kupwara (39 km) was completed in 2025-11. The estimated cost of the project at price level of 2025-11 was 628 crore with Rate of Return (ROR) of (-) 7.48%. The project could not be taken forward after survey due to financially unviability.<\/p>\n

In November, 2025, survey of the projected line had been sanctioned to assess the cost at the current level and same was undertaken. Further, consideration of this proposal shall be possible once survey report becomes available and results thereon are firmed up.<\/p>\n

No survey for extension of rail link from Kupwara to Lalab has been completed \/under consideration, at present.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the latest update on the Baramulla\u2013Kupwara rail link<\/strong>, a proposed extension of the Jammu\u2013Baramulla line under the Udhampur\u2013Srinagar\u2013Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project:<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\ude86 Project Overview: Baramulla to Kupwara Rail Line<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • This is a 39\u202fkm rail extension<\/strong> (sometimes referred to as the Sopore\u2013Kupwara section) approved by the Central Government in November 2018<\/strong>.\ue202turn0search21\ue202turn0search0\ue201<\/li>\n
  • A Final Location Survey (FLS)<\/strong> was approved in December 2025<\/strong>, and the Detailed Project Report (DPR)<\/strong> was in preparation as of mid-2025.\ue202turn0search21\ue202turn0search7\ue202turn0search11\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    \n

    \ud83d\udcc9 Current Status and Government Decision<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • In January 2025<\/strong>, the Central Government shelved the Baramulla\u2013Kupwara and Jammu\u2013Poonch rail projects<\/strong>, citing high costs\u2014\u20b9628 crore for Baramulla\u2013Kupwara and \u20b91,361 crore for Jammu\u2013Poonch\u2014and funding feasibility issues.\ue202turn0search9\ue202turn0search3\ue201<\/li>\n
    • Updates in July 2025<\/strong> confirm that no land has yet been acquired<\/strong> for the Baramulla\u2013Kupwara project, though minor compensation has been paid for road widening in the region\u2014not specific to railway development.\ue202turn0search1\ue202turn0search9\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
      \n

      \ud83e\uddfe Summary Table<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
      Aspect<\/th>\nStatus \/ Detail<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
      Line Length<\/strong><\/td>\n~39\u202fkm from Baramulla to Kupwara<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Survey Approval<\/strong><\/td>\nFLS greenlit in Dec 2025<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      DPR Status (Jun 2025)<\/strong><\/td>\nUnder preparation by Railway Board<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Land Acquisition<\/strong><\/td>\nNone completed<\/strong> for rail line (Jul 2025)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Project Decision<\/strong><\/td>\nShelved January 2025<\/strong> due to funding issues<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Central Line Status<\/strong><\/td>\nOther lines like Baramulla\u2013Uri, Shopian, Bijbehara under survey\ue202turn0search7\ue202turn0search11\ue201<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
      \n

      \ud83e\udded Broader Context: USBRL Completion<\/h2>\n
        \n
      • The main Udhampur\u2013Srinagar\u2013Baramulla Rail Link<\/strong>, a 272\u202fkm mega-project featuring 36 tunnels, 943 bridges, and world\u2011record engineering like the Chenab Bridge<\/strong>, was inaugurated<\/strong> by PM Narendra Modi on June\u202f6,\u202f2025<\/strong>, making the Kashmir Valley rail-accessible year-round.\ue202turn0search8\ue202turn0search10\ue202turn0news13\ue202turn0news16\ue201<\/li>\n
      • Concurrently, the Katra\u2013Srinagar Vande Bharat Express<\/strong> was launched, running 6 days a week with only one halt (Banihal), covering ~193\u202fkm in 2\u202fhours 58\u202fminutes<\/strong>.\ue202turn0search20\ue202turn0news15\ue202turn0news12\ue201<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n

        \u2705 Final Insight<\/h2>\n
          \n
        • While the Baramulla\u2013Kupwara rail link remains proposed and surveyed<\/strong>, plans for actual construction have been temporarily dropped, with no land acquired and the project deferred as of early 2025.<\/li>\n
        • The broader USBRL network is now operational, bringing rail connectivity to the Kashmir Valley, but the Kupwara extension is currently on hold<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n

          Would you like:<\/p>\n

            \n
          • \ud83d\udd0d Updates on land acquisition or resumption<\/strong> plans if revived?<\/li>\n
          • \ud83d\uddfa\ufe0f Status of other proposed lines<\/strong> like Baramulla\u2013Uri, Anantnag\u2013Pahalgam?<\/li>\n
          • \ud83d\udcca Timeline and technical details of the main USBRL project and Vande Bharat service<\/strong>?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

            Happy to fetch more info!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Baramulla-Kupwara Rail Link GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO: 185 ANSWERED ON: 04.03.2025 Baramulla-Kupwara Rail Link Mohammad Akbar Lone Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:- (a) whether the Government has any proposal\/received any request for the extension of rail link from Baramulla to Kupwara and Kupwara to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1650","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}