Reasi (J&K), Jun 7 (PTI) As Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated a prestigious railway project connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country on Friday, fulfilling Maharaja Pratap Singh’s century-old dream, the Indian Railways remembered the pivotal role of the armed forces’ helicopters in ferrying men and machines to the remote and cut-off region to script history.

The use of helicopters proved to be a game changer, not only in building more than 215 kilometres of approach roads through mountainous terrain, linking around 70 remote villages, but also in paving the way for human resource deployment and the construction of three engineering marvels — the world’s highest railway bridge, the country’s biggest cable-stayed bridge and the longest transportation tunnel in India.

“The helicopters of the armed forces played a pivotal role in transforming the dream of connecting Kashmir by rail into reality. They ferried men and machines to begin work in unconnected regions that made this train to Kashmir possible,” a senior railway officer told PTI.

He said the Reasi-Ramban belt was remote and largely inaccessible and initially, labourers and engineers had to trek on foot to undertake basic project work.

Former Railway Board member A K Khandelwal, who supervised the project, said, “To accelerate the construction of the approach road up to the most remote part of the project, Sawalkote, heavy construction machinery was airlifted using Army helicopters from the Jammu airport.” Their extensive logistical support helped the railway overcome one of the most formidable engineering challenges in the country — the 111-km Banihal-Katra section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a Rs 43,780 crore national project.

“A tabletop helipad was constructed by levelling a 100-metre by 40-metre stretch of land near Surukote village between Dugga and Sawalkote using only hand tools,” Khandelwal said.

He added that MI-26 helicopters were used for airlifting heavy construction machines, with sorties conducted and 226 MT of load lifted to Surukote in October 2010.

Recalling his first journey to unconnected Sangaldan — which today boasts of a major railway station and infrastructure — another railway engineer said, “To meet the scale of geographical challenges faced during the construction of the Chenab Bridge, labourers had to be airlifted by helicopters to the worksite in the early days.” He added that workers constructed a helipad on the site, enabling engineers and technical teams to reach the remote location and begin operations on the ground.

“Initially, engineers had to trek long distances on foot or rely on mules to reach various construction points,” he said.

In the early years of the project, hundreds of helicopter sorties were carried out to ferry men, material and heavy machinery to remote and inaccessible parts of Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.

This changed the entire outlook of the prestigious project from isolation to connectivity to Kashmir.

“Before the construction of access roads, villagers relied on treacherous footpaths or boats to reach nearby towns. The project has changed that drastically,” the railway engineer said.

The officials said more than 215 kilometres of approach roads were laid through mountainous terrain, linking around 70 remote villages, including Guni, Paikhad, Gran, Bakkal, Dugga, Surukote, Sawalkote and Baralla, and improving the lives of nearly 1.5 lakh people.

These roads sparked a visible transformation in remote areas of Reasi and Ramban districts.

“Vehicles appeared outside homes for the first time and commercial activity began to flourish with the emergence of markets, roadside eateries and repair shops. Once cut off from development, these villages are now evolving into centres of learning and commerce,” the railway engineer said.

Declared a national project in 2002, the USBRL initiative generated more than 525 lakh man-days of employment and provided direct jobs to 804 eligible land losers, besides creating 14,000 indirect jobs during construction, mostly for locals, the officials said.

With its blend of strategic value, economic upliftment and social integration, the USBRL project is poised to be a defining chapter in the developmental journey of Jammu and Kashmir.

Residents of these once-isolated regions have hailed the Indian Railways for transforming their lives, calling it an “angel” that brought connectivity, communication and development.

“For us, the railway is a messiah. This was a remote and cut-off area. With this train, we are now fully connected with the rest of the world. There has been huge development due to this railway project. It has changed our fate,” Seerat Tariq of Dugga village told PTI.

He added that locals got jobs over the last 10 to 15 years due to the project. “It has improved our economic health. We can now travel to Kashmir for the best medical treatment in just an hour, which earlier took two days,” he said.

Qauser Jabeen, a college student in Reasi, said, “It has become very easy for us to pursue our studies, which was not possible before this project. This was made possible by the roads and communication infrastructure built here.” Others emphasised the enormous tourism potential created by both natural beauty and man-made wonders.

“We now have the world’s highest rail bridge, the country’s biggest Anji Khad cable-stayed bridge and T-50, the longest transportation tunnel in India,” Surinder Singh, a businessman from Gulabgarh, said.

He further said that with several other tunnels, bridges and scenic places, the area can attract thousands of tourists.

Modi dedicated the USBRL project to the nation on Friday by inaugurating the world’s highest railway bridge and India’s biggest cable-stayed Anji Khad bridge over the Chenab river, and flagged off a Vande Bharat train to Kashmir from Katra.

The 272-km-long USBRL project, built at a cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, includes 36 tunnels spanning 119 km and 943 bridges, the officials said.

The plan for a rail link to Kashmir was first proposed on March 1, 1892 by Maharaja Pratap Singh and subsequently, in June 1898, British engineering firm S R Scott Stratten and Company was engaged to conduct surveys and execute the Kashmir rail project. PTI AB RC