Valley on track: Direct train to Kashmir set for Apr 19 launch

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to flag off the first direct train to Kashmir from Katra on April 19, the long-cherished dream of connecting the Valley by rail was first imagined over a century ago.

The initial proposal for a rail link between Jammu and Srinagar dates back to March 1892, when Maharaja Pratap Singh envisioned the project. At the time, four potential routes were identified to connect Punjab to the Kashmir Valley: the Banihal route from Jammu, the Poonch route via the Jhelum Valley, the Panjar route from Rawalpindi (also via Jhelum Valley), and the Abbottabad route from Kalako Serai through Hazara in the upper Jhelum Valley.

Although detailed surveys were conducted for both metre and broad gauge lines, the project remained confined to blueprints due to the treacherous terrain, inhospitable climate, limited resources, and historical constraints.

In 1905, the British revisited the plan, and Maharaja Pratap Singh supported a line via Reasi following the Mughal Road. This plan proposed a narrow gauge track across the Pir Panjal range. However, once again, the project failed to move beyond the planning stage.

The project was considered several times after Independence, but it was only in the year 1981 sanction was given for the Jammu-Udhampur Rail link project.

In 1994-95, the final rail link between Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla (USBRL) was sanctioned and in the year 2002, the Centre declared the railway line a national project.

The project is now being seen as an employment generation opportunity as the government has issued a policy for appointment of member of land losers, whose more than 75% land acquired by Railways. As per officials, 14,069 people were employed by project executing agencies during the construction period. Among those 65 per cent employment was given to locals of J&K. Over 525 lakh man days of employment has been generated on this project.

The official said “The project sites were highly inaccessible and militancy intensified during the period of inception. With the inception of this project, construction of access road commenced in these remote locations. USBRL has constructed more than 215-km approach roads to provide access for tunnel and bridges sites. The construction of these approach roads are very challenging in itself due to difficult climatic conditions, treacherous terrain, unstable Himalayan geology and law and order issues”.

With the completion of these approach roads, the connectivity of large number of surrounding villages such as Guni, Paikhad, Gran, BatalGala, Bakkal, Kauri, Dugga, Surukot, sawalkot, Basindhadhar, Ind, Baralla, Sangaldan, Talwa, Dharam, kholi, Megdar, sumbar, urnihal, siran, kundan, khari, Hingni, Arpinchala, Tatnihal, Chaplain, Bankoot in J&K have drastically improved. It has ensured connectivity to about 70 villages consisting of about 1.5 lakh population, the official informed.

J & K