Banihal-Baramulla travel time to shrink with 60% fewer halts
Almost eight years after the first train started chugging in Kashmir, the Northern Railway is introducing two fast passenger trains with limited stops from Banihal to Baramulla from Thursday.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti will flag off the limited-stop DMU (diesel multiple unit) train on Thursday from south Kashmir’s Anantnag and she will also undertake the train journey up to Baramulla in north Kashmir. Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will flag off the train through video conferencing from Rail Bhawan in Delhi. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh will also be present at the bhawan for the flag-off ceremony.
“The much-awaited fast passengers trains will cut down travel time and also reduce the rush of passengers during peak hours,” a railway official in Srinagar said, adding that these trains will have 12 bogies each.
The two fast passenger trains will make four trips and the biggest beneficiaries will be the commuters travelling from Anantnag to Srinagar as the train will not halt at any station between these two places.
Out of the 17 stations between Banihal and Baramulla, the fast trains will halt at seven stations, including Qazigund, Anantnag, Srinagar, Budgam, Mazhome, Sopore and Baramulla.
The Railways had to launch the two fast trains in January but due to former Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s death, the launch got delayed. In July last year, Mufti had urged the Union Railway Minister to give “special attention” to the Kashmir rail project. The trains running in Kashmir are yet to be connected with the rest of the country; they currently run between Banihal and Baramulla, covering a distance of 135 kilometres.
Trains in Kashmir are fast becoming a favourite mode of commuting in the Valley and there has been a demand for increase their frequency. As many as 30,000 people travel by trains everyday on the Banihal-Baramulla track.
