A new division called the ‘Jammu Railway Division’ will be formed in the region as the Indian Railways gears up for broad-gauge railway connectivity in Kashmir, an official statement announced on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Jammu Division on Monday, taking the total number of divisions to 69 across 17 zones.“In a key move to further boost connectivity in the region, the prime minister will inaugurate the new Jammu Railway Division,” the statement from the PM’s office read.
The formation of the new division will create employment opportunities, infrastructure development, promote tourism and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region.
The Jammu Railway Division will cover an area spanning 742.1 kilometres. It will have the following sections: Pathankot-Jammu-Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla; Bhogpur Sirwal-Pathankot; Batala-Pathankot and Pathankot-Joginder Nagar. So far, these sections were under the Ferozepur division of the Northern Railway zone. This will be the first rail division with headquarters in Jammu and Kashmir.Zones and divisions in Indian Railways are not based on state boundaries. Instead, they are determined by operational and administrative requirements. This will be the sixth division under the Northern Railways after Ambala, Delhi, Lucknow, Moradabad, and Ferozepur.
The division will significantly benefit Jammu and Kashmir and surrounding regions, fulfilling the long-pending aspiration of the people and improving connectivity to other parts of India, the PMO said.
The last time a new division was declared in the Indian Railways was the Salem Railway Division in November 2007.
Jammu Division: A wait of 10 years
The decision to make a separate division for Jammu region was taken by the Railways in February 2014 but the implementation on ground took time.In 2019, about five years after the Jammu division was announced, the Railways formed a committee to study the feasibility for the same.
The formation of a division will mean that it will get a separate budget every year from the railway ministry. So, with dedicated funds for the region, better project planning and execution could take place which may not be possible under the Ferozepur division — the largest railway division with almost 250 stations. The largest zone in Indian railways is the Northern Railway.
