After remaining suspended for almost a year now, the trains will start to chug once again on tracks across valley from February 17, railway officials said on Saturday.
A senior railway official told Good Morning Kashmir that the train service is likely to be resumed from February 17.
“Preparations are being made to restore the train service across Kashmir Valley, hopefully the service will on February 17,” he said.
The train service before the lockdown was a easy way to hundreds of students, employees who were traveling via train from north to south and south to north, but the suspension left them in trouble.
“It was easy for me to go to office via train from Budgam to Baramulla, since the train is not running, I’m traveling on my personal vehicle,” said Zuhaib Abass Dar, a government employee.
One fails to understand, if the services were resumed in other parts of the country, then what bother authorities here to not resume the train services, leaving hundreds of commuters high and dry,” said Naveed Ahmad, a student of GDC Baramulla.
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“Hope now government will resume the services, as colleges are going to open in coming day,” he added.
The train service before the lockdown was a source of earning for hundreds of families, but the suspension left them in financial crises.
After Covid-19 lockdown, every means of transport had been suspended. After two months, the government on May 30, 2020 announced its first unlock 1 from June 8, in which restaurants and places of worship were reopened with a stringent set of standard operating procedures (SOPs).
After unlock 5, government lifted ban on everything from roadways to Airports. However, as the lockdown was eased on several occasions, hope of resumption gained momentum, but, so far authorities here in Kashmir failed to resume it.
Train services had been operational between Banihal and Baramulla in the Valley since 2013. However services on this line connecting Kashmir to Jammu have been suspended since Government imposed lockdown due to Covid-19.
