Train services in Kangra likely to resume by November-end

Train services in Kangra district from the Pathankot railway station are likely to resume by November end, after remaining suspended for over 39 months. The railway connectivity between Pathankot and the Nurpur railway station was snapped in August 2022 after the old bridge on the Chakki rivulet at Kandwal washed away. This Pathankot-Jogindernagar narrow gauge railway line is considered the life line for people living in distant rural areas of Kangra district where bus service is scanty and commuters are dependent on train service.

The Northern Railway has built a new bridge on the interstate Chakki rivulet having a length of 560 metres and comprising six piers and two abutments. An official spokesperson for the Northern Railway, Jammu, told The Tribune that the bridge constructed at a cost of Rs 78 crore would be opened for train service from Pathankot by the end of next month.

He said that the final work related to the construction of pathway, inspection stairs, rail linking or fixing and protection towards the Pathankot side was in progress. He claimed that the construction of the bridge that had started in February 2023 would be completed in a record period of two years and nine months.

After railway connectivity from the Pathankot side snapped, the people of Kangra district had been facing difficulties in the absence of sufficient bus service in their areas. They had to pay high bus fares or charges to travel by private transport.

Before the Chakki railway bridge collapsed in 2022, seven (up-down) passenger trains were running on this narrow-gauge line every day, serving hundreds of passengers in Kangra district. But after it was partially restored, only two trains (up-down) had been running between Nurpur and the Baijnath railway station.

The train services that were partially restored remain suspended for around five months from July to November every year due to landslides on railway tracks at different locations near Kangra due to the fragile strata of hills.

The train service is so important for commuters that they want a permanent solution to the problem of landslides blocking railway tracks. The disruption in train service inconvenienced both locals and pilgrims, particularly those going to pay obeisance at the Jawalamukhi, Kangra and Baglamukhi temples in the district. The railway service is also important from the point of view of religious tourism in the district but the Northern Railway is yet to take steps to keep it going throughout the year.

The Beopar Mandals of Jawali, Nagrota Surian and Jassur say that after the train service was suspended, local traders witnessed a decline in business activities in small towns. The train service, also known as the Kangra Valley Railway, has 33 stations along its 164-km route. This narrow-gauge line laid by the British in 1929 has been on the UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites since 2024.