Pariksha SaathiPIB backgrounder on Kashmir connectivity: 272-km USBRL rail link, Chenab bridge and the Zojila tunnel
A PIB backgrounder released on 17 October 2026 sets out how rail, road and air projects are connecting Jammu and Kashmir. The 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), inaugurated in June 2025 at a cost of Rs 43,780 crore, has 36 tunnels spanning 119 km and 943 bridges and is fully electrified. Its Chenab bridge in Reasi district is the world's highest railway arch bridge, 1,315 m long with a 467-m arch span, rising 359 m above the riverbed; the Anji Khad bridge is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge, and the 12.77-km Tunnel T50 is India's longest transportation tunnel. The Vande Bharat service, extended to Jammu Tawi in April 2026, covers Jammu-Srinagar in under five hours. On roads, the 6.4-km Sonamarg (Z-Morh) tunnel opened in January 2025, and the 13.153-km Zojila tunnel between Baltal and Minamarg, a Rs 6,808-crore project, achieved main-tunnel breakthrough in June 2026. A Rs 1,677-crore expansion of the civil enclave at Srinagar airport was approved in February 2026, and airports at Udhampur and Kishtwar are planned under UDAN.
Drafted with AI assistance from the official PIB release linked above and checked against it by a second AI pass. Not line-edited by a human.
Learning context
The Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link was declared a National Project in 2002. Konkan Railway Corporation was assigned the Katra-Dharam part of the line, 53.66 km in all, for execution; 46.1 km of it, or 86 per cent, runs through tunnels. That stretch includes the Chenab bridge near the Salal hydro power dam, which Konkan Railway describes as 35 metres higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Reference: Konkan Railway, Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link project page
Check yourself: which is India’s longest transportation tunnel, according to the backgrounder?
Tunnel T50, a 12.77-km rail tunnel between Khari and Sumber on the USBRL line, inaugurated in 2024. The 9-km Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee (Chenani-Nashri) tunnel is described as India’s longest operating highway tunnel.
Revision task: from this backgrounder, note the USBRL length, cost and counts of tunnels and bridges, the Chenab and Anji Khad bridge records, and the Sonamarg and Zojila tunnel figures, and keep them apart from the standing facts about the project above.
Test yourself
According to the PIB backgrounder of 17 October 2026, which is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge?
Show the answer
Answer: Anji Khad bridge
The Anji Khad bridge in Reasi district, part of the USBRL project, is India's first cable-stayed railway bridge; the Chenab bridge is the world's highest railway arch bridge.
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