The announcement of Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw about the completion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link by the year end or the first quarter of the next year would by all standards of understandabilities release the huge stress of vehicular traffic on Jammu Srinagar highway and bring down the air fares for passengers of different parts of the country tending to travel to Srinagar by air. Railway Minister’s yet another announcement about the launch of a specially built Vande Bharat train immediately after the completion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla train link shows the intensions of the Railway Ministry to boost train services in Kashmir for the purposes of boosting tourism, travel and trade in Kashmir. Since the Union Minister Of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari has also recently promised completion of the four lane Jammu-Srinagar highway by year end, the ease in travel by train and road would show more unprecedented rise in the tourist arrivals from early winter next year when work on both the the train link to Srinagar and Baramulla from Udhampur and as well as four lane Jammu-Srinagar highway would be hopefully completed as promised by the Union Ministers of the concerned ministries. However what attracts the attention of the Railway Minister is the fact that much before completing the Himalayan challenge of connecting Kashmir by train with the rest of the country the existing railway stations need to be upgraded for the purposes of improving passenger facilities at all the railway stations across Kashmir. While the completion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla train link would hopefully fully connect Kashmir with rest of the country , the train services on Banihal-Baramulla link presently used mostly for easing the travel of local passengers from Kashmir to Jammu need to be upgraded much before the completion of Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link for the purposes of the raising the standards of passenger satisfaction. By all standards of understandabilities the introduction of goods trains for Kashmir is more important than the introduction of new passenger trains for the purposes of easing the transportation of essential supplies to Kashmir during chilly months of winter season after the completion of Kashmir train track.
“Hassle free train and road connectivity would hopefully bring down the prices of raw materials used for manufacturing several products in small scale industrial units in different parts of Kashmir Valley. So by all standards of understandabilities the completion of train link to Srinagar and Baramulla from Udhampur won’t only show unprecedented rise in tourist arrivals but it will also boost trade, industrial development and transportation of essential services to Kashmir”.
Easing the travel to Srinagar by train and road would consequently not only increase unprecedentedly the tourist arrivals in Kashmir but it will also ease unprecedentedly the transportation of apple from Kashmir to other parts of the country and movement of essential supplies to Kashmir Valley from other parts of the country even during the mid winter season. Hassle free train and road connectivity would hopefully bring down the prices of raw materials used for manufacturing several products in small scale industrial units in different parts of Kashmir Valley. So by all standards of understandabilities the completion of train link to Srinagar and Baramulla from Udhampur won’t only show unprecedented rise in tourist arrivals but it will also boost trade, industrial development and transportation of essential services to Kashmir.
