Banihal railway station

33°27′03″N 75°11′21″E / 33.4507°N 75.1892°E / 33.4507; 75.1892Elevation1,702 m (5,584 ft)Owned byIndian RailwaysLine(s)Jammu–Baramulla linePlatforms2Tracks3ConstructionParkingYesOther informationStatusFunctioningStation codeBAHL Zone(s) Northern Railway zone Division(s) Firozpur canttHistoryOpened2013ElectrifiedYes

Route map

Legend km 338 Baramulla Uri (inprogress) (inprogress) Kupwara Line (inprogress)   Kupwara Bandipora Line (proposed) 330 Sopore 323 Hamre 315 Pattan 307 Mazhom 297 Nadigam Budgam–Leh–Bhanupli line (planned) 292 Budgam 281 Srinagar 275 Pampore Jhelum Bridge 269 Kakapora 259 Awantipora 252 Panzgom Shopian Line (inprogress) 245 Bijbehara to Pahalgam (inprogress) 238 Anantnag 231 Sadura 226 Qazigund Hillar Shahabad Banihal-Qazigund Railway Tunnel ( 11.2 km 7 mi ) 208 Banihal Tunnel T74R ( 8.6 km 5.3 mi ) Khari Tunnel T49 ( 12.75 km 7.92 mi ) Sumber Tunnel T48 ( 10.2 km 6.3 mi ) Sangaldan Tunnels include T47-Br88-T46-Br 87-T44/45-Br85-T42/43, ( 7 km 4 mi ) Sangaldan Sawalkote Dugga Chenab Rail Bridge Bakkal Reasi Anji Khad Bridge 78 Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra 62 Chak Rakhwal Bhaderwah Line (planned) 53 Udhampur 44 Ramnagar Tawi Bridge 22 Manwal 14 Sangar 10 Bajalta Poonch line (planned) 0 Jammu Tawi Jalandhar–Jammu line km This diagram: view talk edit

Location

Banihal railway station (station code: BAHL), a part of Jammu–Baramulla line, is situated in notified area of Banihal in Ramban district, Jammu and Kashmir. It was commissioned on 26 June 2013 and passenger trains run from Banihal to Qazigund. The station was inaugurated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on the same day at 2.22 pm. They enjoyed the 12-minute ride in train through Pir Panjal tunnel up to Qazigund with 100 students, mostly girls, of the Banihal Higher Secondary School, and made the 17.8-km ride back to Banihal, passing through the tunnel again, the second longest in Asia.^[1]

Background

The station has been built as part of the Jammu–Baramulla line megaproject, intending to link the Kashmir Valley with Jammu Tawi and the rest of the Indian railway network.

Services

The railway network in Kashmir from Banihal to Baramulla is now 137 km. Five trains run daily from Banihal to Baramulla. The services were paused for a prolonged period since 5 August 2019 after the Abrogation of Article 35A and at that period it were resumed only once for a special documentary shoot. However later the services were introduced from January 2020 onwards.

Design

The RL of the station is 1,702 m (5,584 ft) above mean sea level. Like all the other stations in this megaproject, this station also features Kashmiri wood architecture, with an intended ambience of a royal court which is designed to complement the local surroundings to the station. Station signage is predominantly in Urdu, English and Hindi.

See also

• Srinagar railway station
• Udhampur railway station
• Anantnag railway station
• Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra railway station

References