Railways run special trains to rescue stranded Kashmir tourists

Indian Railways has deployed a series of special trains across Jammu and Kashmir to move stranded passengers out of the Valley after days of heavy rain, landslides and repeated closures of the Jammu–Srinagar national highway cut off road access for tourists and pilgrims.

Highway shutdown triggers rail lifeline for tourists

The latest spell of intense monsoon rain in late July led to fresh landslides and shooting stones along National Highway 44, the main road link between Jammu and Srinagar. Published reports describe long tailbacks of vehicles, tourists stuck in hotels and shelters, and pilgrimage traffic brought to a standstill as stretches of the highway were periodically declared unsafe.

With sections of the road closed for safety checks and debris clearance, rail services on the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla line became the only dependable long-distance option for many travelers. Publicly available information indicates that Northern Railway responded by operating special services linking the Kashmir Valley with Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra, a key junction for onward trains to northern and central India.

According to recent coverage on national and regional outlets, the special trains were scheduled at short notice from stations such as Srinagar, Sangaldan and Banihal. The aim was to give stranded tourists, Amarnath pilgrims and local passengers a guaranteed evacuation route at a time when both road and, in some cases, air links were constrained by weather.

Multiple special services move more than 1,500 passengers

Reports from news channels and newspapers indicate that at least two dedicated evacuation runs were mounted in the last week of July, including a Srinagar to Katra special and an extended Sangaldan–Katra service. These operations together moved more than 1,500 passengers who had been unable to leave the Valley after the highway was cut by landslides.

One account notes that a special train departed Sangaldan around early afternoon, stopping at Banihal and Anantnag before reaching Srinagar in the early evening. Another service was extended from Sangaldan further south to Katra to create a direct rail corridor between the shrine town and the Valley, improving connectivity for tourists seeking to connect with long-distance trains to Delhi, Bhopal and other destinations.

Passenger occupancy on these services was reported at well over full capacity, even with additional coaches attached. Despite the crowding, publicly available information suggests that the use of special trains significantly eased pressure on already stretched accommodation in Srinagar and hill towns, and helped clear a growing backlog of departing visitors.

Katra emerges as a strategic evacuation hub

The choice of Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra as the southern terminus for many of the special services reflects its growing role as a multimodal hub for the wider region. The town is not only the base for one of India’s busiest pilgrimage routes but also a junction where the Kashmir rail link connects to the rest of the Indian Railways network.

Recent analyses point out that by routing specials to and from Katra, rail planners could tap existing long-distance connections toward major cities without funneling all extra demand through Jammu Tawi alone. This distributed passenger flows more evenly across the network, reduced congestion at a single terminal and gave stranded tourists more options when rebooking or changing plans at short notice.

Past episodes have shown a similar pattern, with special Katra–Sangaldan and Katra–Srinagar trains approved during highway blockages, heavy snowfall or flood-related disruptions. The latest round of operations reinforces Katra’s status as a natural evacuation node whenever primary road infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir is compromised.

Weather volatility underscores value of the Kashmir rail link

The disruption that prompted the most recent special trains has renewed attention on the strategic value of the Udhampur–Srinagar–Baramulla rail line. The route, which includes major engineering works such as the Chenab bridge and the Banihal tunnel, was designed in part to give the region a resilient transport spine during periods of extreme weather.

Summer 2026 has already seen a broader program of special trains across India to handle seasonal peaks in travel. In Jammu and Kashmir, however, the latest services have gone beyond crowd management to function as an emergency corridor, stepping in when the only all-weather highway was temporarily unusable.

Travel industry observers note that for tour operators, hotel owners and houseboat businesses in the Valley, the ability to move visitors out quickly and safely can limit cancellations and reputational damage after a crisis. The rapid deployment of special trains is being viewed within the sector as a critical part of that resilience toolkit, especially during the peak pilgrimage and holiday season.

Stranded passengers face delays despite added capacity

Despite the relief provided by the emergency services, accounts from the region indicate that many travelers still faced long waits, ticket uncertainty and improvised itineraries. With demand far exceeding the number of seats available on both regular and special trains, some passengers had to queue at stations for hours to secure berths or travel in crowded general compartments.

Social media posts and local reportage describe families adjusting plans repeatedly as highway reopening times shifted with changing weather, and as train timings were announced and then quickly booked out. Travel planners say that while the special trains absorbed much of the immediate pressure, the episode highlights the challenge of scaling capacity fast enough in a narrow mountain corridor with limited infrastructure.

For now, the operation of special trains has provided a crucial, if imperfect, safety valve for Jammu and Kashmir’s tourism economy. As the monsoon continues and the pilgrimage calendar remains busy, transport planners and tour operators will be watching closely to see how quickly similar services can be activated if the highway is again brought to a standstill by rain or landslides.