The big deal about Kashmir's new train

Srinagar: "The day is not far when trains will run from Jammu to Srinagar through the Babihal Pass,'' said the Prime Minister as he inaugurated the Qaziugund-Baramulla line. Kashmir is now linked via train to the rest of India.

The new train, linking Jammu to Kashmir, makes this the fastest way to travel across the Kashmir Valley, with a two-hour ride as compared to four hours by road. "Travelling to Srinagar meant spending Rs. 100. Now it will cost Rs 15 to Rs 20,'' says Muhammad Amin, who lives in Qazigund.

Now Baramulla and Qazigund are connected at one end, and Katra and Jammu on the other. The most difficult part, 70 kilometres in between, connecting Qazigund to Katra is under construction.

This route cuts through the steep Bahibal Pass in Pir Panjal Mountains at a height of 11,000 feet. The project is already an engineering marvel of sorts . Once complete, the 290-kilometre line will have 750 rail bridges, and hundreds of kilometres of tunnel, the longest of which is 11 kilometres.

The project is expected to conclude in 2017. But India just got one giant step closer to the Great Kashmir Train Journey.