New Jammu Rail Division Under Northern Railway Effective From June 1 For Connectivity, Defence Purposes

The Northern Railway commenced its operations for the newly formed Jammu division on June 1 to serve the purpose of connectivity and also aid in defence purposes. The notification for the same was issued on May 29 and would entail the area carved out of the Ferozpur division. The station, marked as the first division in the Himalayan region, was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 6, 2025. 

Operational Area

The gazette notification stated that the Jammu division would span up to 742 kilometres including Pathankot 바카라� Jammu 바카라� Martyr Captain Tushar Mahajan 바카라� Srinagar 바카라� Baramulla (423 kms), Bhogpur Sirwal 바카라� Pathankot (87 km), Batala 바카라� Pathankot (68 km) and Pathankot 바카라� Joginder Nagar narrow gauge section (164 km). 

The boundaries of the division, headquartered at Jammu Tawi lies between the new Jammu Division and the Firozpur Division at KM 27.750 on Jalandhar 바카라� Pathankot Section and at KM 39.150 on Amritsar - Pathankot section. 

Significance

Vivek Kumar, the first DRM of Jammu Division, said the formation of a new division not only aids in connectivity but also helps in defense purposes due to its vital strategic location, as reported by The Indian Express. 

The decision to carve out a new design would also allow the monitoring of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramula Rail Link (USBRL) that connects the Kashmir valley to Jammu Tawa and to the rest of India. 

Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), Northern Railway, 바카라�The major problem for these areas with the Firozpur Division was the distance. Since the new division is headquartered in Jammu, it will be very helpful for executing projects in the border areas. It will also help in the continuous monitoring of projects like USBRL, as these are of national importance. We will also be able to develop passenger facilities well. Manpower is being increased in the division by the Railways. Officers have been appointed to many senior posts, including Divisional Railway Manager (DRM). This division also has the Kangra Valley Railway line, which is the longest narrow-gauge line in the country. We will be able to manage it well,바카라� as reported by The Indian Express. 

Other proposed lines in Jammu and Kashmir

According to the Ministry of Railways, the new proposed lines are the Baramulla-Uri New Line (46 km), Sopore-Kupwara New Line (37 km), Anantnag-Pahalgam New Line (78 km), Avantipore-Shopian New Line (28 km) and Banihal-Baramulla doubling (118 km).