Rlys lose Rs 3 cr, to conduct trial run after 3 months

Suhail Bhat
SRINAGAR, Nov 10: After remaining suspended for more than three months, the Rail services might partially resume in Kashmir as authorities have decided to conduct a trial run on Srinagar-Baramulla sector, provided situation remains favourable.
A top official of Railways told Excelsior that they have decided to conduct trial run, provided situation remains normal. “We have decided to conduct trial on 11th November. We might run a few services from 13th November. All this depends on the situation on the ground,” he said.
He added that the decision was taken in a meeting last week that was called by Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan. “We might also conduct trial run towards Banihal by the end of this week,” he said.
Asked if staff was available to run the service, he said: “We had sent some of our men to Punjab where an additional staff was required. Some of them are back while others are arriving today. We have 100 percent staff here. All the arrangements have been made.
The train service on 137 km railway line was suspended ahead of August 5th announcement altering the Constitutional status of Jammu and Kashmir and its division into two Union Territories. The Railways have suffered a loss of over Rs 3- crores due to suspension of the train services.
The Valley has been under lockdown for more than three months.
Except for one day of week, 15 pairs of train ferry around 30,000 commuters, mostly students and employees between Banihal and Baramulla. The officials said since the Railways generated revenue from the sale of passenger tickets, snapping of service incur huge losses. “Railways in Kashmir annually generate Rs 10 crores but the expenditure for the same period is more than Rs 70 crores and income declines further with this loss,” an official said.
This is the second time Railway services have remained suspended for longer duration. In 2016, the service was suspended for five months after the killing of a militant commander, Burhan Wani, that sparked protests across the Valley. The Railway suffered a loss of around Rs 5 crores during that period.
In year 2018, the train service was suspended for around 30-days amounting to the loss of over Rs 1 crore. In 2017, as per the figures of Railways, the trains were suspended for 44- days as a precautionary measure to avoid any damage.

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