SRINAGAR: The Jammu Railway Division has recorded its first internal movement of cement by rail, transporting a consignment from Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua railway station to the Anantnag goods shed.
The consignment, booked by Ganpati Cement in Kathua, was dispatched on Monday following efforts by the division’s Business Development Unit to bring new freight traffic onto the railway network.
Around 66 tonnes of cement, packed in nearly 1,320 bags, were loaded into a BCN wagon for transportation to the Kashmir Valley.
Railway officials said cement had earlier been transported to the Valley by road, while rail consignments involving the commodity were received as inward traffic at stations including Kathua, Shaheed Captain Tushar Mahajan Station and Anantnag.
The movement is expected to offer traders an alternative mode of transporting construction material to the Valley, with the Railways pitching it as a safer, more economical and environment-friendly option compared with road transport.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Uchit Singhal said the movement marked a new phase in freight transportation in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Earlier, cement was received only as inward traffic at major rail complexes like Shaheed Captain Tushar Mahajan Station, Kathua and Anantnag. As a result of the continuous efforts and robust logistics of Jammu Division, for the first time, outward loading of cement has been successfully started from here,” he said.
Singhal said the development reflected growing interest among traders and industries in using the railway network for freight movement.
He added that the division would continue efforts to bring more traders and organisations into the rail freight network and expand the movement of goods across the region.
