Train services in Kangra valley discontinued due to monsoon

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Dharamsala, July 20

Train services in the Kangra valley have been discontinued once again, causing inconvenience to the residents of the district. The train services were discontinued from July 6, leaving people in many areas of the district without this easy mode of transportation.

Sources said that the train services had been discontinued due to the monsoon season. The affected people alleged that the region had not received much rainfall but the Railways discontinued its services in the Kangra valley on the pretext of the monsoon.

Rly bridge over Chakki washed away in 2022

• Train services in the Kangra valley were discontinued from July 6, leaving people in many areas of the district without this easy mode of transportation.
• Train services were disrupted in 2022 after a railway bridge over the Chakki river was washed away in flashfloods.
• The Chakki railway bridge is likely to be restored by the year-end. Once the bridge is restored, only then can train services between Pathankot and Jogindernagar be resumed.

Satish Sharma, a resident of the Panchrukhi area of Kangra district, said that the Railways was not serious about running trains on the historic Kangra-Jogindernagar narrow gauge line.

“At one time, seven trains used to run between Pathankot and Jogindernagar. About two years ago, a railway bridge over the Chakki river near Pathankot was washed away in flashfloods. Since then, train services have remained disrupted. A few months ago, the Railways started two trains between Nurpur and Baijnath in Kangra district. Now, even those two trains have been stopped on the pretext of the monsoon though the area has not received heavy rains”, he added.

The sources said that the Railways had started two trains between Nurpur and Baijnath in Kangra during the Lok Sabha elections. The residents of Kangra were agitated over the discontinuation of the train services due to the monsoon. The Chakki railway bridge that was washed away in flashfloods was likely to be restored by the year-end. It was only after the bridge was restored that the train services between Pathankot and Jogindernagar could be resumed.