Service ferries over 500 tons of mustard oil, food items from Bari Brahmana to Budgam amid road disruption
Naveed Ul Haq Ganaiee
Srinagar, Sep 20 :
In a major push for Kashmir’s horticulture sector, Northern Railway’s Jammu Division has transported over 6,400 tons of apples from the valley to Adarsh Nagar, Delhi, by parcel trains, officials said on Saturday.
The initiative, as per the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), has been launched amid road connectivity disruptions and is being described as a historic achievement by railway officials.
The division said the service began on September 11, 2025, with two parcel van coaches—one for Jammu and another for Adarsh Nagar, Delhi—each carrying around 23 tons. The first coach reached Adarsh Nagar from Budgam Railway Station in less than 21 hours, and the other arrived in Jammu in under six hours.
On September 15, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off an eight-parcel van train, each van with a 23-ton capacity, from Srinagar to Adarsh Nagar, Delhi. These eight vans also completed the run significantly faster than road transport.
Continuing this trend, over 6,400 tons of apples have now been moved from Kashmir to Adarsh Nagar, Delhi, using both BCN covered wagons and parcel coaches supplied from the Anantnag Goods Shed Terminal in the valley.
The recently launched JPP-RCS parcel train service has also carried more than 500 tons of mustard oil and other food items from Bari Brahmana to Budgam to ensure essential supplies are not hit by road closures.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal said the intervention has been a “big help” to traders and growers. “The Railways’ intervention has been helpful to traders and growers in transporting their apples,” he said, adding, “We will soon commence the operation of parcel train services with parcel rakes from the Baramulla Railway Station terminal.”—(KNO)