SRINAGAR: The Centre has put on hold two proposed railway expansion projects in Jammu and Kashmir—the Baramulla-Uri new rail line and the Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam track-doubling project—with the Railway Board informing Northern Railway that the proposals have been returned by the Cabinet Secretariat and are “no longer under consideration.”
The development comes months after the completion and commissioning of the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), which established direct rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the wider Indian Railways network. The latest decision puts the proposed next phase of expansion and capacity augmentation in the Valley on hold.
In a communication dated September 10, 2026, addressed to the General Manager of Northern Railway, the Railway Board referred to Cabinet Secretariat memoranda dated August 27 and said the two proposals had been returned.
The Baramulla-Uri new line, for which a 40-km DPR had been prepared, was envisaged as an extension of the existing railway network towards Uri. The Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam doubling project, covering 118 km, was intended to increase capacity on the existing Valley railway corridor. The Railway Ministry had confirmed in February that DPRs for both projects had been prepared, while clarifying that preparation of a DPR did not amount to final sanction.
According to the Ministry, projects at the DPR stage require consultations with stakeholders and further approvals, including appraisal by NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Finance, before they can receive final sanction.
A senior Railway official, as reported in local media, said DPR preparation represented only one stage of the approval process and that the proposals could potentially be considered again in the future, subject to the required approvals and other factors. Possible issues cited included project utility and availability of funds.
The decision assumes significance against the backdrop of the completion of the USBRL, which was dedicated to the nation in June 2025. The project comprises 272 km of railway line, 36 tunnels and 943 bridges, providing all-weather rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country.
The commissioning of the USBRL was accompanied by the inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge and Anji Bridge, along with the launch of Vande Bharat services between Katra and Srinagar. The Chenab bridge is the world’s highest railway arch bridge, while the Anji bridge is India’s first cable-stayed railway bridge.
The proposed Baramulla-Uri extension would have taken the railway network further towards one of north Kashmir’s strategically important border areas, while the Qazigund-Srinagar-Budgam doubling project was intended to augment capacity on the existing Valley corridor.
For now, however, both proposals have been removed from the Railway Board’s active consideration, leaving the future of the two projects dependent on any fresh decision by the authorities.
