Ehsan Fazili/ Srinagar

“The Delhi-Srinagar rail connectivity is a dream come true for the people of Kashmir”, Faiz Bakshi, general secretary of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) told Awaz-The Voice on the soon-to-be-commissioned Train to Kashmir.

He said the link is equally beneficial for businesses, tourists, students, and patients going for specialized treatment outside J&K, and for the religious pilgrimage of Umrah from the valley. “The 13-hour journey (between Srinagar and Delhi) will revolutionize our travel experience”, he added.

Bakshi said the railway line would be a “boon for traders, exporters, importers of goods from other parts of the country and horticulture produce from the valley through goods trains or bogies”. 

It would also help in faster transportation of Kashmir horticulture produce, particularly, the apple to reach by the delivery schedule and at cheaper rates, he said.

The KCCI general secretary pointed out that the train connectivity would also eliminate the risk of road blockades due to adverse weather conditions on the Srinagar-Jammu highway.

Train to Kashmir passing through a tunnel during trial run

Faiz Bakshi opined that the travel on Srinagar-Jammu and Srinagar-Delhi axis “for nearly a century has been the most arduous and troublesome” and that “travelers will feel a relief with the introduction of Vande Bharat train”. The train travel would be economical mode of transportation as compared to the sky-rocketing airfares on Srinagar-Delhi and Srinagar-Jammu routes, which, he at times were costlier than even the longest routes within the country and foreign destinations.

“Every class of workers will experience a difference taking the train journey which also promises to offer luxury”, Bakshi said.

The people of Kashmir are looking forward to the opening of the railway line to end the decades-long arduous travel experiences. The Sonamarg tunnel which is a prelude to an all-weather road to Ladakh, the dream of connecting Kashmir to Kanyakumari through a railway network is all set to usher in a new era of socio-economic development.

It has taken nearly three decades for the 272-km Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) to pass through difficult geological and topographical terrains.

Jammu and Srinagar have so far been connected by the 300-km Srinagar-Jammu national highway (NH1) – renamed as NH44. This has been the lifeline of the valley. Thus people in the Valley are also looking forward to the completion of the Rs 1600 crore NH44 upgradation project. It passes through 33 tunnels, of which 15 have been completed.

Iconic Chenab Bridge on the Katra-Baramulla Railway line

This all-weather highway is being thrown open within the next three years.

On the other hand, in Jammu, the winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir, which, in the conventional sense has lost its importance as the Railway head, people are hoping something good will be in store for them too in this scenario of overall development of the UT.

The Jammu-Udhampur Railway section was opened in 2004 and extended to Katra catering to the Vaishno Devi pilgrims in July 2014.

“While infrastructure development is going on all around, there have to be some projects for Jammu in the minds of the leadership”, said Arun Gupta, President of the Jammu Chamber of Commerce & Industry (JCCI). “We are sure that the Prime Minister takes care of the interests of the people of this region”, he told Awaz-The Voice from Jammu.

In this regard, he referred to the beginning of railway services from Pathankot to Jammu in early 1973. He added that Pathankot, the first Punjab town touching J&K borders, was the center of business activities, which were gradually extended to Jammu.

Arun Gupta held that though it is too early to say, Jammu may suffer in developing scenarios, but hoped that different alternatives would emerge.

He added that the infrastructure development easing the travel facilities between Srinagar and Jammu would make travel easier for the people of Kashmir and the tourists to turn to Jammu as well.

After the upgradation of the NH 44, the travel time between Srinagar and Jammu would be reduced from 12 hours to less than five hours, he said.

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That would also make it easy for the people of Kashmir to turn to Jammu as well, he said.  He welcomed the upcoming rail connectivity to Kashmir hoping the new link would create more business opportunities through peace and development.