The Hindu Business Line : ABC to move rail coaches by road to Srinagar

ABC Transporters has won a tender to move rail coaches by road from Jammu to Srinagar. This would help kick-start rail services between Avantipura and Rajwanshir in Kashmir valley. This stretch is a part of the rail link connecting Srinagar to the rest of India.

Usually when the Railways needs to move coaches, the coaches are pulled on rail tracks. But here, the rail link till the stretch concerned is under construction and is not expected to be ready before 2008.

Railways' public sector unit Ircon International, which had invited bids for the job, had received bids from six firms. "We have awarded the job to ABC Transporters for a total cost of Rs 4.12 crore," Mr B.S. Kapur, Managing Director, Ircon International, told Business Line.

Dummy coach

Ircon is now waiting for a dummy coach to be made available that can be moved from Jammu to Srinagar as a trial run. "We have asked the Northern Railways to make available a dummy coach at Jammu so that a trial run can be done. This is important as the transporting agency needs to identify possible hindrances," said Mr Kapur, adding that they hope to get the coach before August-end.

A train can be run on the link by the year-end provided the heights overhead electrical lines are increased or if the lines are shifted by the State. "Work is on track as of now," he said.

Rail link

The Avantipur-Rajwanshir stretch is a part of the Indian Railways' project to build rail link along the Udhampur-Katra-Laole-Qazigund-Baramulla line. The Railways aims to complete the entire link by 2008.

While the construction work of the Udhampur-Katra line has been awarded to Northern Railways, the Katra-Laole line (about 95 km long) has been entrusted to Konkan Railways and Ircon has undertaken the work for the Laole-Qazigund-Baramulla stretch.