Trial runs done, train services likely to resume in Valley today

Srinagar, November 16

Two trial runs on Srinagar-Banihal railway line were conducted successfully on Saturday, paving the way for resumption of full services in the Kashmir Valley from Sunday, more than three months after they were suspended due to security reasons, officials said.

The trial runs, through the restive south Kashmir, were done after a thorough safety audit of the section, a railway official said. He said rail services in the Valley should be fully operational from Sunday.

“The train service on Srinagar-Banihal route will resume on Sunday. It is being restored for the public fully for the first time after it was suspended due to security reasons,” he said.

Train services in the Valley were suspended on August 3, ahead of the Central Government’s decision to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union territories.

Meanwhile, the situation limped back to normalcy in Kashmir and the annual examinations of students in the middle classes began on Saturday.

“The annual examinations for class V to IX started today morning,” an official said.

The examinations were scheduled to start from Monday, but the first two papers were postponed due to heavy snowfall across the Valley. The schools in Kashmir have remained affected since on August 5.

However, private cabs and auto-rickshaws could be seen on the roads in large numbers, a few mini-buses have also started plying on some of the routes, according to the officials. They said private transport was plying unhindered in Srinagar and elsewhere in the Valley. — PTI