Sumber in Jammu’s Ramban district has long existed in the shadows cut off from basic services, isolated by poor infrastructure, and shaped by the scars of decades-old militancy.
That reality changed irrevocably in 2024 with the arrival of a railway station quaint, whitewashed, and green-roofed ushering in a new chapter of mobility, connection, and economic potential.For 54-year-old Mohammad Shafi, who had never stepped inside a train before, the station marked more than just a physical gateway. It became a path to opportunity. His first journey a modest 35-minute ride to Banihal with his eight-year-old granddaughter for a schoolbook errand cost only Rs 10. Until then, reaching Banihal was a grueling four-hour, Rs 500 road trip involving multiple vehicle changes.
Sumber is among 27 stations on the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL), a monumental 272-km engineering feat that now unites Jammu and Kashmir not just geographically but symbolically. On June 6, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the most challenging leg of the project the 63-km Katra-Sangaldan section—along with two Vande Bharat trains. This final stretch completed a strategic lifeline that combines the ambition of nation-building with the urgency of regional development.
The USBRL project is a civil engineering triumph, featuring India’s highest rail bridge over the Chenab, the country’s first cable-stayed railway bridge at Anji, and over 97 km of tunnels, including the Pir Panjal tunnel—India’s longest at 11.2 km. Over Rs 35,000 crore, nearly 80 per cent of the total project cost, has been funnelled into the tough Katra-Banihal stretch.But it’s not just about steel and concrete. It’s about what those tracks enable.
In Sumber and nearby villages like Gran Bayotran and Reasi, new roads built to service the railway lines have had transformative ripple effects. They’ve brought in piped water, electricity, and small-scale commerce. For residents like Ratan Singh, a local electronics shop owner, this has meant a new life after years of displacement during militancy. For drivers like Mohd. Nazeer Ahmed, the road brought a livelihood—his SUV now ferries villagers to the district hub.Beyond transport, the project created over 14,000 jobs through contractors, 9,000 of which went to local residents. Bridge works and station construction gave unemployed youth hands-on training and income. But as the project nears completion, employment uncertainty looms, raising questions about sustainable economic transition.
Even as fast trains like the Vande Bharat zip past smaller stations such as Sumber, daily passenger services have already begun to reshape lives. In Sangaldan, passengers queue from dawn—students, workers, and especially patients in search of affordable healthcare in Anantnag or Srinagar. What was once a full-day road journey now takes three hours by train.Yet not everyone is content. Healthcare worker Ali from Anantnag laments inconsistent services and lack of train halts in interior villages. “What is the use of trains if they don’t stop where people live?” he asks.
Socially, the railway symbolises more than logistics. In a region fractured by conflict, ideology, and alienation, connectivity holds the promise however fragile of unity. “I hope this train bridges not only the distance but also the hearts of Jammu and Kashmir,” says Raj Kumar, a village head from Reasi.Still, the wounds of the past linger. As one retired official noted, real healing requires more than metal tracks—it calls for political will, inclusive resettlement, and above all, human trust.
For now, however, the railway stands as a tangible thread of progress, weaving remote communities into the national fabric, fostering climate-resilient transport, and paving the way for sustainable, equitable development in one of India’s most beautiful yet vulnerable regions.
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