Vande Bharat breaks speed barrier on Kashmir rail route, hits 100 kmph

India’s railway engineering marvels got a high-speed test on Friday as a Vande Bharat Express crossed the Chenab and Anji bridges at 100 kmph for the first time, marking a new speed milestone on the Katra-Banihal section of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL).

Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw shared on X a video of a Vande Bharat train crossing the Chenab and Anji railway bridges at 100 km/h, the first time the train has operated at that speed over the two structures on the Jammu-Srinagar rail route.

“100 km/h over India’s engineering pride!”, Vaishnaw wrote on X.

The maximum permissible speed on the 111 km long Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra – Banihal section has been increased from 75 km/h to 100 km/h.

The increased speed was successfully tested today. Vande Bharat Express (Train No. 26401/26404) created a new record by crossing the world’s highest Chenab Bridge and India’s first cable-stayed Anji Bridge at 100 km/h, officials of the Jammu Railway Division said.

This enhancement will make train operations on the USBRL project smoother, reduce travel time and provide faster, safer and more comfortable journey to the passengers.

The Railway Ministry had recently granted approval to increase the maximum permissible speed of trains to 100 kmp/h.

Earlier, the permissible speed on this section was 85 kmph for the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra – Sangaldan section and 75 kmph for the Sangaldan – Banihal section.

The decision to increase the speed limit was taken after ensuring compliance with all the prescribed safety conditions by the Railways.