Title - New rail service provides year-round access to Kashmir

A 100-year-old dream of Maharaja Pratap Singh was realised June 25th when an all-weather train connecting Kashmir with rest of India chugged off for the first time through the Pir Panjal Mountains, providing an alternative surface link to the Valley.The railway line, flagged off by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) head Sonia Gandhi, started in Banihal, Jammu and reached Qazigund, Kashmir in 25 minutes.The 18km railway line passes through an 11.2km-long tunnel, the longest in India and second longest in Asia, constructed by the Hindustan Construction Corporation (HCC), a leading Indian construction group."This railway project is the dream of the nation, and an effort of the UPA Government to develop and connect Jammu & Kashmir with rest of the country," Singh told the audience in Banihal.

Boost to economy

Residents eagerly anticipated economic benefits from the new railway, especially in winter.

"With this railway line, more tourists will come to Kashmir. Earlier, during the winters, many tourists could not visit Kashmir because of the road closures due to heavy snowfall. Now, tourists can visit Kashmir at any time." Niyaz Ahmad told Khabar South Asia. Ahmad recently opened a dry fruit shop near the railway station in Banihal.

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries President Abdul Hamid said businesses would also benefit. "During the winters, most of the businessmen travel to different parts of the country to buy different commodities. Earlier, they had to wait for several days for the reopening of the national highway," he told Khabar. "However, now they will not face such problems."

Many youths already have jobs at the different railway stations. Mohammed Younis, from Qazigund, recently joined the railway police. "When we have more railway stations, they (railway authorities) require more people. They will give preference to locals only," he said.

A dream comes true

Locals described the new rail line as an engineering marvel and a long wish fulfilled.

"I have witnessed the people who got stranded during the winters for days. I am so happy. This railway line will benefit everyone," said Mohammed Qayoom, who owns a hotel in Qazigund. "I travelled in the train the day after the inauguration, and the journey was so comfortable."

For Nazeer Ahmad Khan, a shopkeeper from Ramsoo near Banihal, the railway line is a miracle of engineering. "It was not an easy task. They were working round the clock. Everyone in my village still couldn't believe that they have an all-weather train available now," he said.

Credit goes to the engineers and workers who laboured on the project beginning in 2005.

"The tunnel has been constructed using the New Austrian Tunnelling Method and it is for the first time in the country that this method has been used on such a large scale. About 1,300 workers and 150 engineers worked round the clock to accomplish this challenging task," HCC Project Manager Sharanappa Yalal told Khabar.

"Our men kept working even in freezing temperatures, with a singular objective to successfully execute this project. The tunnel is totally water proof and is equipped with a fire fighting system across the entire length of the tunnel," he added.