Rail services resume in Valley after 11 months
Around 1,200 people take the to-and-fro trips between Banihal and Baramulla
SRINAGAR : After remaining suspended for around 11 months owing to Covid-19, train services within Kashmir resumed partially on Monday.
The train in Kashmir runs from Banihal in Jammu to Baramulla in north Kashmir — a distance of 137km. There are 17 stations on the route.
Northern Railways chief area manager for Srinagar, Saqib Yousuf said the services started today.
“The response was good. Around 1,200 people took the to-and-fro trips between Banihal and Baramulla during the day,” he said.
Earlier on February 7, he had written to railway police expressing their intention for partial restoration of the service between Banihal and Baramulla section.
Yousuf said the frequency will continue to be like today. “The increase in the number of trips would be decided by the board in the near future. I can’t give a time frame,” he said.
The rail services were suspended on March 19, 2020, owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier on Sunday, Union railways minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, “Railways to resume train operations in Kashmir valley on Banihal-Baramulla section from February 22, with two services operating initially.
This will enhance ease of movement and provide a big boost to the tourism sector.
Normally, during winters, there are 24 services daily of which eight are end-to-end while the rest originate from or terminate at central Kashmir’s Budgam railway station.
In summers, every day, 35,000 to 40,000 commuters use train services while in winters, the number drops to around 25,000 people.
Earlier, the train service was suspended in August 2019 following the Centre’s decision to nullify Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile state into two union territories.
The service was subsequently restored after 100 days.
In 2016, after the killing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, the services remained suspended for over six months.
Pathankot-Jogindernagar train back on track
DHARAMSHALA: Train services on Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow-gauge track resumed on Monday, 11 months after being suspended in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020.
The train started its first journey at 10.10am from Pathankot and was scheduled to reach Jogindernagar at 7.55pm.
The return journey would start at 7:05am on Tuesday and the train would reach Pathankot at 5.05pm.
Divisional railway manager, Firozpur, Rajesh Agarwal said initially, one pair train services have been resumed on the track after the demand of people and local administration.
These trains are being run as unreserved mail express. Number of train services on the track will be increased gradually, he added.
Before being shut down due to pandemic, a total of seven up-down trains would run on the 163km track.
This railway service is lifeline of hundreds of villages of Kangra district which are not properly connected.