Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the first ever train service in Kashmir valley by flagging off the train at Nowgam Railway Station on Saturday. To begin with the trains will run from Rajwansher (Budgam) to Anantnag covering a distance of 66 kilometers. The fare for travel between Rajwansher to Anantnag will be Rs. 15. The regular service of the train will commence from October 12. There will be 8 coach Demu Rake in the train. The rail service will have stations at Budgam, Srinagar, Pampore, Kakapora, Awantipora, Panjgam, Bijbehara besides Rajwansher and Anantnag. The timings of departure and arrival of the train at different stations have been worked out in a way so that commuters do not face any inconvenience. Endeavour has been to ensure that people are benefited by the plying of the service and alternate facility for transportation is available. The train will leave Budgam at 7.10 AM and arrive at Anantnag on 8.45 a.m. In the afternoon, the train will depart from Rajwansher at 2.25 p.m. and reach Anantnag at 4:00 PM. From the Anantnag side, it will leave at 9.05 a.m. in the morning and arrive Rajwansher at 10.40 a.m. In the afternoon, the departure timing from Anantnag will be 4.15 p.m. to reach Rajwansher at 5.50 p.m. The prominent features of the coach are that it will have seating capacity to accommodate 90 passengers and the compartment meant for physically challenged persons will have wider doors. For panoramic view, wide windows of unbreakable and splinter proof poly carbonate sheets have been provided while the doorways will be sliding. Anti skid flooring has been provided in the coaches and distinctive and attractive colour schemes have been adopted. Like the state-of-the art Delhi Metro, public information system with display and automatic announcement are included in the coaches which have also pneumatic suspension in the boggies for better riding comfort. The coaches have executive chair car type seating arrangement with fire resistant grade upholstery and reclining mechanism. In view of the peculiar climate of the valley, the 1400 horse power diesel engine for the train has been provided with heating system for quick and trouble free starting in winters. The driver’s cab has heating and defogging unit to take care of cold climatic conditions and is fitted with single lookout glass to give wider view to the driver. Snow cutting type cattle guard is attached at the driving end of the train for snow clearance from tracks during winter.
Part of the prestigious Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla rail link project, this section of the railway line will have public conveniences at all the stations along with platform shelters.