Kashmir Drives Into New Era as First Car-Laden Train Reaches Anantnag

Srinagar: A new chapter opened in Kashmir’s freight history on Friday as the Valley received its first-ever automobile rake directly at the Anantnag Goods Shed.

The train, loaded with 116 vehicles from Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s Gati Shakti Terminal in Manesar, Haryana, reached Anantnag after a 45-hour journey covering more than 850 kilometers.

Railway officials on site called the successful unloading a turning point for the region’s logistics chain. “This development firmly places Anantnag on the map of India’s growing freight network,” said an official.

For decades, automobiles destined for Kashmir were unloaded outside the Valley, in Jammu or Punjab, and driven in by road, adding time and cost. With today’s arrival, that long-standing bottleneck has been cleared.

Officials indicated that today’s rake is only the beginning, with more such services expected to follow, offering faster, cheaper, and more reliable automobile movement into the Valley.