Following the completion of the ambitious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), Vaishnaw said detailed project reports (DPRs) have been prepared on projects to connect the Poonch-Rajouri region to the national rail network and to extend the railway line to Uri, a border town in Baramulla district.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, Jitendra Singh, were among the dignitaries present at the flagging off ceremony.

The direct train services between Srinagar and Jammu will reduce travel time between the twin capitals of Jammu and Kashmir, and boost tourism, besides providing an all-weather surface transport link.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first direct train service between Katra and Srinagar on June 6, 2025. This service has now been extended up to the Jammu Tawi Railway Station.

The work on the Rs 43,780-crore rail project, linking Kashmir to the rest of the country, began in the late 1990s, with the first train operating in the Kashmir Valley in October 2008.