Due to low traffic projections, new rail lines for Leh-Pathankot and Leh-Kargil-Srinagar have been shelved

The ministry informed the Lok Sabha this week that the planned railway lines for Leh-Pathankot and Srinagar-Kargil had been abandoned owing to poor traffic forecasts.

The survey for the new Bilaspur-Manali-Leh line project is complete, and a thorough project report has also been written. Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, a BJP MP representing the area, questioned the government about the project’s current progress, but the ministry chose not to respond.

There were two other ways to reach Leh: one from Srinagar-Kargil and one from Pathankot. A survey was conducted for each of these initiatives. The assessment estimates that the 480-km route from Srinagar would cost Rs 55,896 crore and the 664-km route from Pathankot to Leh would cost Rs 70,308 crore. The railroads said that these projects couldn’t go further because of the poor traffic predictions.

Projects for the BILASPUR-MANALI-LEH RAIL

The 489-km Broad Gauge line connecting Bilaspur to Sundernagar, Mandi, Manali, Sissu, Darcha Keylong, Sarchu, Pang, Rumtse, Upshi, and Kharu before concluding in Leh would link significant cities in Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. Later, between Anandpur Sahib and Nangal Dam, a line from Bilaspur will be linked to Bhanupali.

40 stations will be along the line, according to the Railways. According to a ministry source, at least 270 km of the 489 km will comprise tunnels. It will be among the most challenging train projects in the nation.

The Shivalik, Great Himalayan, and Zanskar Ranges, which have a broad range of heights between 600 m and 5,300 m above sea level, are all traversed by the planned route. The area is in seismic zones IV and V, which will need the construction of several tunnels, deep viaducts, and bridges. There will be 90 small bridges together with 114 large bridges along the route, totaling 62 tunnels. The project is expected to cost about Rs 1 lakh crore. Over 2,500 hectares of land would be needed for this electric line, the source stated on condition of anonymity.

The Ministry of Defence has classified this line as “strategic”.

On June 27, 2017, the then-railway minister Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu laid the cornerstone for the new line’s Final Location Survey in Leh. The survey was scheduled to be finished by the end of March 2019, at a cost of around Rs 157 crore.

For the Union Territory, which attracts thousands of visitors each year, train access to Ladakh was essential for its strategic, economic, and tourism growth. After completed, according to the government, it will have the tallest railway track in the world.

After Gujarat’s Kutch, Leh is the second-largest district in the nation. Leh is the headquarters of 14 corps and features ornate Army facilities. All-weather connection to the area is still not available, however.

Leh is a frigid desert where temperatures during the wintertime drop far below freezing and cut off road connection. Both the strategic and socioeconomic demands of the area need all-weather rail connection.