RailEnquiry

Palampur: The Kangra valley narrow-gauge rail line, which contributes to the economy of this region, is in a bad shape. The Union Government made no efforts in the past 85 years to convert this 120-km rail track into a broad gauge line. The British regime had laid down this railway track in 1932, linking all important and religious towns of Kangra and some parts of Mandi district.Though a number of plans were drawn to convert this narrow-gauge line into a broad gauge line, these remained confined to files.The condition of the rail track between Pathankot and Jogindernagar has gone from bad to worse in the past 10 years as the Railway authorities lack funds to repair the same. Several small and big bridges are also in a bad shape in the region. The retaining walls on tracks have developed major cracks.In 2003 when the NDA was in power at the Centre, the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee planned to link this rail track with Leh in Jammu and Kashmir via Manali keeping in view the defence requirements of the country.After the Kargil war of 1999, the Centre has felt the need to develop an alternative route to Leh.In 2004, the UPA government came into power and this proposal was turned down by it under the pretext of a financial crunch.However, the state made all efforts to convince the Union Government for clearance of this project.It also offered to acquire land free of cost for the project from Jogindernagar to Keylong, but no headway could be made in the same.The Centre had also rejected the request of the state government to convert this 120-km long rail track into a broad gauge line.Century-old engines and coaches are still plying on this track. The authorities even failed to introduce the regular first-class compartments.With a manifold increase in the population and the tourist traffic in the Kangra valley, the Railway has failed to come up to the expectations of the local residents.At present, some trains ply on this route daily covering 33 stations and passing through important areas like Nurpur, Jawali, Jwalamukhi Road, Kangra, Nagrota Bagwan, Chamunda, Palampur, Panchrukhi, Baijnath and Jogindernagar.