The apple of everyone's eyes takes happiness express: Budgam to Delhi parcel train flagged off for Kashmir growers

A parcel train from Budgam to Delhi was announced on Thursday to facilitate transportation of apple produce amid frequent closure of the main highway connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country.

Union minister Ashwani Vaishnav said the decision will empower apple growers of Kashmir. The loading of two parcel vans carrying apples started in Budgam on Thursday.

The move is significant as fruit traders suffered losses of around ₹600-700 crore due to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu highway for around nine days because of heavy rainfall and landslides. During this period, thousands of trucks remained stranded on the highway including fruit-laden trucks. Over 3 million people are directly and indirectly dependent on the horticulture sector.


"Railways is introducing a daily time-tabled parcel train from Budgam in Kashmir Valley to Adarsh Nagar station in Delhi starting September 13, 2025," said Vaishnav. The train will reach its destination in 23 hours.

"This is a welcome beginning and we hope its ambit will be widened soon as around 1,000 fruit-laden trucks move out of the Valley every day," said Bashir Ahmad Bashir, who heads Kashmir Fruit Growers and Dealers Association. He said the government should work on increasing the destinations.

Chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed the decision stating that it took about a week of close coordination between the railway ministry officials and officers in his secretariat with inputs from the J&K Agriculture Production Department to get to the point where harvested fruit from Kashmir is now being transported by train.