The coming of two more new train service in Kashmir Valley ahead of the summer tourist season would be a big booster for the tourism industry. With these two services Valley today has 30 train services connecting various destinations beyond Banihal. Indian Railways has been the single largest government sector entity which has connected the nation from all corners and now by bringing Kashmir Valley on its map it would help in weaving the State into India milieu much faster let it be religious or leisure travel. A gift of British Raj, the railways have been a major game changer in development and keep the nation together though it has been the worst sufferer during agitations and for anti-nationals an easy target. The completion of Jammu-Udhampur Rail Link in 2005 and the Udhampur-Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra rail line in July 2014 ushered in the dawn of new era in rail connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir. The whole gamut of rail projects has created other supportive network like feeder roads to those remote villages which have remained devoid of development and government schemes. It is not only the people who are being benefitted. Once the project is complete, it would be easier even for the government to maintain law and order in remote locations. At present, it takes eight hours to travel from Jammu to Srinagar. The national highway is mostly shut during the winter due to snowfall. This is all set to change. Once the proposed rail route gets commissioned, people can regularly travel to any part of the country by a safe and regular mode of transport. The travel time will come down significantly. It will take only two and a half to three hours to reach Srinagar from Jammu. Because of this project, urbanisation will also take place with new cities coming up near the railway stations. The current importance of Srinagar will decrease as it will also get decongested. People will prefer to stay in other cities too which can be a totally different concept.
