With 'special troops train', govt signals J&K plan's on track

NEW DELHI: On Wednesday, the railways successfully ran its first “trial special train”, carrying soldiers on the strategically vital Katra-Qazigund section, in a move that signals how govt’s plan to run trains between J&K remains on track, unaffected by the ongoing Indo-Pak conflict . The train made the round trip with full security arrangements, TOI has learnt.

The section, which includes the Chenab Bridge , is the final leg that connects Kashmir with the rest of India by rail. The train left Katra around 10am and returned by 6pm, they added.

The trial run gains importance considering the ongoing Indo-Pak conflict and Operation Sindoor. PM Narendra Modi was scheduled to inaugurate the section last month, but was postponed due to bad weather.

Sources said the special train on trial carried soldiers who were on leave and stuck due to cancellations of flights to J&K. “The train operation was limited to only the Katra-Qazigund section. Normal train operation is on between Qazigund and Baramulla,” said an official.

Earlier, the railways had carried out the trial run of special Vande Bharat trains between Katra and Srinagar, but never carried passengers in them.

Wednesday’s successful trial run of the train with passengers also gains importance considering that it will be an additional connectivity to Kashmir and for faster movement of men and machineries. Till now, there was only highway connectivity between J&K, and sometimes bad weather, including landslides, impacted movement.