Kashmir Impulse Desk
Baramulla, Sep 26
The Indian Railways has put two proposed rail projects in Jammu and Kashmir on hold, with the Railway Board informing Northern Railway that the Cabinet Secretariat had returned the proposals and that they were “no longer under consideration”.
The projects are a proposed 40-km Baramulla-Uri railway line and a 118-km Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam line-doubling project.
The Railway Board communicated the decision to Northern Railway on September 10, referring to Cabinet Secretariat memoranda dated August 27, according to the document cited in the report.
Both projects had reached the Detailed Project Report (DPR) stage but had not received final sanction.
The Railways told Parliament in February that DPRs had been prepared for the two projects, while stressing that this did not amount to approval. The projects would also require stakeholder consultations and clearances, including appraisal by NITI Aayog and the Finance Ministry.
A senior Railway official said DPR preparation was only one step in the approval process.
“The DPR preparation does not mean final approval. There are several other requirements and clearances before a project receives final approval,” the official said.
The official said the proposals could be reconsidered in future, depending on factors including funding and other required approvals.
The Baramulla-Uri line was proposed as an extension of the railway towards the Uri area near the Line of Control, while the doubling project was intended to increase capacity on the existing Kashmir railway corridor.
The move follows the completion of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), which was fully commissioned in 2025 and connected Kashmir with the wider Indian Railways network.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the completed project, including the Chenab and Anji bridges, in June 2025.
The 119-km Qazigund-Baramulla section had been fully commissioned in 2009, while the Banihal-Qazigund section became operational in 2013.
The Railways has since expanded services in the Valley, including a Vande Bharat service linking Srinagar with Jammu and Katra.
For now, the proposed extension towards Uri and the planned capacity expansion on the Kashmir corridor remain on hold.
