Monday, April 11 2005 17:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jammu: The Udhampur railway station has been sealed off and a sanitisation operation launched in the area ahead of the flagging off of the first Sampark Kranti express train on the Jammu-Udhampur track by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 13.

Special Protection Group (SPG) teams, who arrived in Udhampur from New Delhi, have sealed the station and started sanitisation of the station and surrounding areas along with Army, BSF, CRPF and State police for the flag off function on April 13, official sources said.

Sniffer dogs and metal detectors are being used in the sanitisation operation, they said.

Security forces have taken positions on the mountaintops and high altitude areas surrounding the rail station, they said.

Led by a team of Railway Ministry officials, headed by the additional general manager, a check has been conducted of the machinal devices and signal points all along the rail track and a dry run conducted twice, they said.

"There were no problems with the train passage on Jammu-Udhampur train track and the dry runs passed off perfectly well," they said.

The 54.85 kms Jammu-Udhampur Rail Line, which is part of the ambitious Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula Rail Link, has been completed at the cost of Rs 515 crores.

The project links Jammu and Udhampur connecting on way four stations, Bajalta, Sangar, Marwal and Ramnagar and crossing the mighty Tawi river and its tributaries such as Sardan, Ringhal, Gambhir and Dudhar.