Welcome to Kashmir
It sounds like a page from a storybook. A train link connecting Jammu with Srinagar would appear like an impossibility some decades back. Some would even think of it as a nice wish that was only to be wished and never fulfilled. But on Friday, 06 June, 2025, PM Modi flagged off the Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express, marking a historical event in the transportation history of the region. With the advancement of technology, the scale of infrastructure has gone so up that even the highest peaks can now be scaled. The terrain from Jammu to Srinagar is such that even sustaining the road connecting the two cities is more than a plain engineering effort. But laying a track for train is really incredible.
The people in Kashmir, who are always at the receiving end of any fluctuation in weather, will immensely benefit from this train link, as it would make their travel schedules predictable. Not just people, goods from Kashmir can now reach the markets in the country with more ease. As CM Omar Abdullah mentioned in his speech at the inauguration, this train would save people of Kashmir from the soaring air fares in the times of road closure.
The flagging off is an occasion that opens up possibilities in every sector of human activity. It would lead to further proliferation of economic relations with the wider markets in Indian. It would allow students from Kashmir move with ease into the educational spaces spread all across the country. It would bring in cultural and societal proximity that always helps in building human connections and ultimately contributes to flourishing of human relations. This train would be a game changer in more than one way. The people in Kashmir have thus many reasons to feel elated. This rail link was long overdue and as it becomes a reality new opportunities are expected to open up. The only missing link, though is a direct connect between Delhi and Srinagar. People expect that the time comes soon when people board the train at Srinagar station and alight at Delhi. With this moment here, that moment shouldn't be far away.
