Jammu, Sep 13: In a first for Jammu Railway Division, an indent has been placed for the movement of cement by rail from Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station to Anantnag Railway Station, marking the beginning of cement traffic on the route, an official said on Sunday.

Describing it as a “significant step” towards achieving a major milestone in the field of freight traffic, a railway spokesman said the indent has been placed for loading of cement in the division following tireless, continuous and coordinated marketing efforts by the division.
“This will be the first time that a consignment of cement will be transported by rail from one railway station of the division to another railway station of the same division,” he said.
He said the Business Development Unit (BDU) of Jammu Division was in continuous contact with the industry.
In this sequence, the team held several rounds of meetings with Ganpati Cement, Kathua and persuaded them to send their product to the Valley through Railways, the spokesman said, adding this will not only be a completely new traffic for Jammu Division, but it is also a new O-D (Origin-Destination) pair which the Division has successfully captured.
He said an indent for one BCN rake, containing commodity cement bags, has been placed from Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Kathua Railway Station to Anantnag Railway Station. At present the indent has been placed and loading will be done from September 14.
The company has assured that this traffic will be continued consistently and in larger quantity in the coming time as per the market demand in Kashmir Valley, the spokesman said.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager of Jammu Division, Uchit Singhal termed it a “very big achievement” and said a new traffic like cement is being connected to Jammu Division, which is the result of the continuous hard work of the freight marketing team.
“Our aim is to make Railways a more economical, safe and environment-friendly option for traders. This new O-D pair from Shaheed Captain Sunil Kumar Choudhary Railway Station to Anantnag Railway Station will prove to be an important link for the supply of construction material in the Valley in future,” he said.