Every winter, Kashmir confronts a familiar and deeply unsettling reality: a region of millions is rendered vulnerable by fragile and unreliable connectivity. A brief spell of snowfall, landslides, or reduced visibility is sufficient to shut down the Jammu–Srinagar National Highway and suspend air operations, leaving the Valley effectively cut off from the rest of the country. This recurring isolation is not an unforeseen disaster; it is a predictable seasonal event. Yet, despite decades of discussion and repeated assurances, a permanent and dependable solution remains elusive.
The Jammu–Srinagar National Highway (NH-44), often described as Kashmir’s lifeline, has instead become its most critical point of failure. A single road passing through treacherous terrain cannot be expected to bear the economic, medical, educational, and social needs of an entire region, particularly during harsh winters. Whenever the highway closes for days or weeks, the consequences are immediate and severe.
When road connectivity collapses, air travel is presented as the only alternative. In reality, it offers neither certainty nor equity. Flights to and from Srinagar are acutely weather-dependent and are frequently cancelled at short notice due to poor visibility or snowfall. Despite this unpredictability, airfares escalate sharply during road closures, creating an unchecked monopoly. Passengers are compelled to pay exorbitant prices, often without any assurance that the flight will actually operate. This exploitative pricing disproportionately affects students, patients, small traders, and middle-class families who have no viable alternative.
Students are among the worst affected. Thousands pursue education across the country and must travel during examination periods or academic sessions. Road closures and unaffordable air tickets force many to miss examinations, entrance tests, interviews, and admission deadlines—losses that cannot be compensated later. These disruptions undermine merit, waste years of effort, and narrow future opportunities for an entire generation.
The humanitarian impact is even more alarming in the case of patients. Kashmir lacks adequate tertiary healthcare facilities for several specialized treatments, forcing patients to seek care outside the region. During prolonged road closures, patients remain stranded, medicines run short, and referrals become impossible. Families travelling for medical emergencies face unbearable uncertainty, financial distress, and at times irreversible loss. A healthcare system cannot function when access itself is seasonal and unreliable.
The economic cost of isolation is equally devastating. Kashmir’s horticulture sector, particularly apples and other perishable produce, depends heavily on timely transportation to national markets. Road closures delay consignments, degrade quality, increase wastage, and reduce returns for farmers already operating under challenging conditions. Businesses suffer losses, supply chains collapse, and tourism—another key economic pillar—takes a direct hit due to cancellations and negative perceptions of inaccessibility.
At the heart of this recurring crisis lies an unfinished national project—the direct Delhi–Srinagar rail link. The Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) has been under execution for decades and represents one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in the country. While engineering milestones are celebrated and trial runs announced, the core issue remains unresolved: Kashmir still lacks a regular, all-weather, long-distance train connecting it directly to the rest of India.
A reliable rail connection would fundamentally transform Kashmir’s logistical, economic, and social landscape. Railways offer stability during adverse weather, affordability for ordinary citizens, and the capacity to transport essential goods, fuel, medicines, and agricultural produce at scale. More importantly, predictable connectivity would restore confidence, dignity, and a sense of normalcy to daily life.
The question, therefore, is no longer whether a direct Delhi–Srinagar train is feasible—it is whether the political will exists to prioritise its timely and full operationalization. Snowfall is not an unexpected calamity; it is a certainty. Governance and infrastructure planning must reflect this reality.
Until Kashmir is connected by a dependable, year-round rail lifeline, winter will continue to expose the gap between assurances of seamless connectivity and the lived reality of seasonal isolation. For the people of Kashmir, a direct rail link is not a luxury or a symbolic achievement—it is a long-standing necessity, delayed for far too long.
By Aman Qayoom Wani
Advocate, Supreme Court of India
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