In a significant step towards integrating Jammu and Kashmir into India’s national trade grid, the Indian Railways last week ran its first freight train from Rupnagar in Punjab to Anantnag in Kashmir, a development poised to transform the valley’s logistics and economic landscape.
The train, loaded with 1,380 metric tonnes of cement, reached the Anantnag Goods Shed on Saturday afternoon, symbolising not just physical connectivity but new business possibilities for industries in the Valley.
New economic corridor
Railway Ministry officials called the milestone a “powerful symbol of progress and integration” with the potential to lower logistics costs, expand market access, and draw investment into Kashmir’s core sectors. Cement, the first commodity shipped, is vital for the Valley’s ongoing infrastructure and housing projects, including public works and private real estate developments.
Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, CPRO of Northern Railway, said the operational readiness of the Anantnag freight facility “marks the start of a new phase of logistical and economic growth” for the region, unlocking faster and cheaper freight movement.
Boost for agro and handicraft exports
While cement was the first cargo, the new link is expected to be particularly transformative for Kashmir’s fruit and handicraft industries, which rely on time-sensitive deliveries to markets nationwide.
“With this train, transporting a box of fruit to Delhi could drop from ₹100 to ₹30, and transit times could shrink from six days to just 30 hours,” said Fayaz Ahmad Malik, president of Sopore Fruit Mandi, India’s second-largest fruit market. The savings could give Valley produce — especially short shelf-life crops like cherries and strawberries — a competitive edge in urban markets.
Malik, however, stressed that the full benefits will materialise only when direct freight trains run to key consumption hubs such as West Bengal, Ahmedabad, and the Northeast. The operational efficiency was evident in the inaugural run: the cement order was placed late Thursday night, the rake was loaded by Friday evening, and the consignment reached Anantnag by Saturday noon, which is less than 40 hours end-to-end.
Industry experts note that rail freight can significantly undercut road transport costs while ensuring predictable delivery schedules, a critical factor for perishable goods and just-in-time manufacturing.
The freight train’s arrival follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s June 6 inauguration of the 63-km Katra–Sangaldan section of the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project and the launch of a specially designed Vande Bharat train between Srinagar and Katra.