'I GOT DEMOTED': OMAR PITCHES FOR STATEHOOD AT PM MODI-LED EVENT

The son of a former legislator who dreamed of Kashmir connecting to India's railway network five decades ago witnessed history unfold on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) and flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express between Katra and Srinagar.

- Mir Ehsan and Neha LM Tripathi

SRINAGAR/KATRA: The son of a former legislator who dreamed of Kashmir connecting to India's railway network five decades ago witnessed history unfold on Friday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) and flagged off the first Vande Bharat Express between Katra and Srinagar.

Peer Jalaludin, a former Baramulla mayor and senior PDP leader, watched with emotion as the train that his father had envisioned more than 50 years ago finally became reality. "My father was an assembly member from Baramulla from 1965 to 1971. He had raised this question in the then legislative assembly that Baramulla and Srinagar should get train connectivity with the rest of the country. That time it looked like an impossible thing," said Jalaludin, now in his early 60s.

The inauguration marks a watershed moment for the Kashmir Valley, providing all-weather connectivity that has eluded the region for decades. Political leaders across party lines, business communities, and residents have hailed the development as transformative.

The 272-kilometre rail link, initiated in 1999 and declared a national project in 2002, features the world's highest railway arch bridge—the Chenab Bridge. The project encompasses 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, representing what the government described as "India's boldest step yet in transforming connectivity in the Himalayas."