Train services restored partially on Kangra-Baijnath section of Pathankot-Jogindernagar rail line

The Northern Railway partially restored passenger train services between Kangra and Baijnath on the Jogindernagar section of the Kangra valley rail line on Friday after remaining suspended for 10 months. However, direct train services between Pathankot and Jogindernagar are yet to be restored. The direct train services were suspended in 2022 after the collapse of the Chakki river bridge. Now, the bridge has been reconstructed and the Railways have already conducted a trial but is yet to get clearance from the higher authorities for running direct trains on the route.

Before the monsoon season, the Railways were operating four trains between Nurpur and Jogindernagar. The train services on this railway line were suspended during the monsoon because of heavy rainfall, which had triggered landslides near the Kopar Lahar railway station.

Residents of the lower areas of Kangra district have been unhappy as direct trains services on the Pathankot-Jogindernagar rail line were not resumed. They had organised multiple protests for the early restoration of the train services on the route though these were partially restored on the narrow-gauge track.

Before August 2022, seven trains were plying between Pathankot and Jogindernagar. In August 2022, after the Chakki river bridge at Kandwal collapsed, the Railways suspended train services on this route. Later on the public demand, the Railways had restored services with two trains (up and down) running between Nurpur and Baijnath.

The Kangra valley rail line is in a shambles at present. Most of its infrastructure is outdated and poor maintenance has worsened the condition of the track. The Pathankot-Joginderngar railway line originally linked key towns in Kangra and parts of Mandi district. The expansion of this railway line has strategic significance for national defence. In 2003, when Atal Bihari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, plans were made to connect Pathankot to Leh via Manali, providing a safe and strategic route to Leh beyond Pakistan’s firing range. The idea gained urgency after the Kargil War of 1999. However, the alignment was altered under the Narendra Modi government, with a new detailed project report linking Leh to Bhanupali-Bilaspur instead.